Hearts vs Heroics or: How Uravity Surpassed the World's Greatest Hero
by Air-Quiet-Reader
Summary: Uravity is chasing her dreams of becoming a hero with all her energy. She refused to let her feelings for Deku make her lose sight of the big picture. But when she is forced to fight him at the Summer Sports Festival, the war within herself comes to a head. She must confront the love within her heart once and for all and decide whether to banish her feelings — or act on them.
1. Hero over Heart

_Despite everything Ochako had thrown at him, he still stood strong, ready to strike at any moment._

 _That was Deku for you. Determined, mighty and unyielding. The future number one hero. The owner of the shadow she was always chasing. What hope did she, the gravity girl, have against a guy like him?_ _  
_ _  
_ _But the world was watching. This Summer Sports Festival was her last chance. Like Aizawa said — if she failed here, her chances of becoming a pro plummeted._ _  
_ _  
_ _Ochako looked back up, sending a defiant glare at her opponent. He did not flinch or back down._ _  
_ _  
_ _She smiled through her pain. He was giving her everything he had. Just like she had asked for. She was thankful to him for that._ _  
_ _  
_ _Without another thought, Ochako roared her lungs out and charged at him with all her strength._

 _Today was the day she would defeat Deku._

* * *

- _Two weeks earlier_ -

Ochako barely had a moment to react to the fist careening straight for her gut.

With the quick reflexes, the product of years of hand-to-hand training bestowed upon her, Ochako managed to dodge out of the way. She sidestepped the quick jab and took the opportunity to grab the arm of her would-be-assailant. Before he could respond, she heaved and lifted him above her head, slamming him hard into the ground.

She swiftly grabbed his arm and pinned it behind his back before he could get up. She rested her full weight upon him, keeping his face firmly planted into the mat.

"My win," Ochako spoke, with relief and more than a hint of pride.

She let him go, standing back up and leaning over to recover after their bout. Her breaths came heavy and the sweet burn from her muscles demanded attention. But despite her exhaustion, she managed to smile at her opponent.

"That was…" Deku trailed off, heaving breaths stalling his statement. He rolled onto his back and returned the gentle smile. His sweat-drenched face only slightly sullied it. "Great counter. I got too impatient."

"You did," Ochako spoke matter-of-factly, nodding in agreement. She extended a hand out to help him to his feet, which he gladly accepted.

Her hand tingled pleasantly at the contact, but it was a feeling she was more than accustomed to by now. Her muscles ached harder, worn as they were, as she hoisted him up to a standing position.

"That was a good one. I was probably in trouble if that went on for much longer," Ochako replied with her trademark bubbliness. "I think I got one more in me."

"Same here," Deku said, nodding to her. He moved several feet away from her on the wide, square mat they were sparring in at the U.A. Gym. There was hardly a soul to be seen in the massive facility this late in the evening, a preferable moment.

Deku turned to face her, grin still prominent on his face as he stared her down. "How about you come at me this time?"

Once upon a time, the idea of going up against Deku — let alone attacking him — would have terrified her. But after a year of sparring together, those jitters were long gone.

Training alongside Deku was not easy, especially considering he could still get her pulse racing _without_ trading punches with her. But it was as good a way as any to keep pace with him, and working alongside him had improved her own skills greatly.

Besides that, it was just fun getting to be around Deku. He was a good person to bounce things off of, both physically and mentally. Their friendship had only gotten stronger over time as they pushed one another to improve and make it to the top.

Their regular sparring sessions, usually done without quirks, were one of the highlights of her week. But they had increasingly become bittersweet in their third year at U.A. The pressures of school work and internships drastically shortened their time together.

Ochako shook her head and refocused on her opponent, Deku, standing with his guard up in front of her. He was tough to fight, even after hundreds of matches between them. The two always tried to get creative to one-up each other and Deku was fighting a little more wildly than usual today.

She thrust herself forward without warning, air whizzing by her eardrums. As Gun Head had taught her, it was always best to strike fast and without fanfare. She brought her fists up as she closed the distance, aiming around his guard to hit the side of his head.

Deku did not flinch. He deflected her blow with his left arm and caught her follow up knee with his free hand.

With her all-in first strike deflected, Ochako found herself in an awkward position, her weight resting on one leg. He capitalized by pressing down on the knee he had caught, knocking her off-balance. As she careened toward the mat, she quickly tucked herself in and rolled, springing herself back up quickly.

But not quickly enough. Ochako was standing just in time to be met with a familiar scarred fist. She caught Deku's arm but was too off-balance to stop him as he tripped her with another hard shove.

She was momentarily saved from another faceplant by Deku grabbing both her outstretched arms. They stayed like that for a moment before Deku gave her a fiendish little grin.

He twisted her right arm around her and pushed. Ochako fell hard into the mat and found her cheek pressed against the hard surface. She was unable to budge as Deku rested his full weight behind her.

"I got...this one," Deku declared between breaths. He let her go and collapsed next to her onto the mat.

"What does that make it?" Ochako turned herself over, looking up towards the light of the ceiling. They both stayed lying down, letting their breaths catch up to them.

"Four-four on the day," Deku replied as he lifted himself off the mat. "Time to pack it in?"

"Yeah...think so," Ochako said as she rose up along with him. She winced slightly as her legs burned from overuse. It would be another sore day for her tomorrow, but she had no regrets.

The pair walked out towards the edge of the mat, taking healthy gulps from their water bottles and collecting their gym bags.

"So...I saw you on the news the other day," Deku interrupted the comfortable silence as he zipped his own bag up.

"You are probably the tenth person today to talk to me about it," Ochako replied, with only a smidge of annoyance. In truth, popping up on television had made her a pretty giddy. It was only in the background behind Ryukyu as her mentor fielded questions on a villain bust. But she still took pride in the moment. It was a nice step.

"It is pretty awesome though," Deku said enthusiastically. "You looked really good."

He paused briefly before his eyes widened in realization at the connotations of his statement.

"That is to say, I mean, you looked really heroic!" He quickly corrected himself, sputtering a bit to change his word choice.

Ochako felt her face heat at his words, but she managed to take the compliment in stride. "Thanks, Deku. It means a lot, coming from you."

"Don't mention it," Deku replied quickly, with a tinge of relief in his voice. He gave her an easygoing smile as he hoisted his gym bag over his shoulder. "Got anything planned for tonight?"

"Yeah, I have to finish some history homework," Ochako sighed, wrinkling her nose in displeasure. "You?"

"Evening training with All Might," Deku replied, looking at her sympathetically. "If you want, we could do a study session tomorrow night."

"Can't. I've got evening internship duties," Ochako said, shaking her head. She was touched by his concern, but their unalignable schedules were irritating. Such was the life of a third-year hero student.

"Well, I'll see you in class then. Same time next week?" Deku asked eagerly.

"You bet!" Ochako beamed at him, giving him a thumbs up. This was the one activity they had together that they would prioritize over almost anything else. She had no intention of changing that.

"Alright, well, see you tomorrow," Deku said a little awkwardly. He waved lightly as he walked towards the men's change rooms, steps echoing slightly amidst the silence of the facility. "Thanks for the training, Uraraka!"

"Right back at you," Ochako responded with enthusiasm, answering with a wave of her own.

She watched Deku walk away, his shoulders broad underneath his sweat-soaked t-shirt. She felt herself get a little more flushed at the appealing sight. But she kept herself composed, breathing deeply to keep her pulse steady.

Ochako had long since gotten used to keeping her feelings for Deku under wraps — having grown out of being in denial or ashamed of them. Whereas her feelings for him were once a wildfire she could not control, she had learned to put a lid on them. They were still present and occasionally flared up, but no longer freaked her out and controlled her.

It had been a big part of making their interactions easygoing again. She could get all warm and fuzzy about something he did or said while maintaining her focus on bigger priorities.

They both had dreams to obtain that did not leave much room for distractions. He was Deku, the wonder kid, a blazing comet gathering attention as All-Might's apparent heir. She was Uravity, the up-and-coming gravity hero, inspired by the brilliant streak of light he left across the sky. She may not have any hope of reaching him, but she would keep trying nonetheless.

Besides that, they were the best of friends. Nothing less, nothing more. She was okay with that.

Ochako heard her cell phone buzz from her gym bag and instinctively reached in to pick it up. Her eyes were met with a screen featuring a beaming picture of Deku and her after catching a thief on their way to school last month. Overlaid above it was a notification of a message from Mina.

Groaning, Ochako slid her thumb across her phone to glimpse at the expected needling.

"So, how was training with your boyfriend? （*＾3＾）❤"

Ochako rolled her eyes; Mina had taken it upon herself since the start of the year to tease her and push her into getting together with Deku. Since everyone was well aware of her weekly sparring sessions with him, she would often find texts like this from Mina after the training. Each one was increasingly aggravating.

The girls of Class 3-A were well aware of her feelings about Deku at this point, most suggesting she act on them and ask him out. "What could it hurt?" had almost become a mantra in their conversations.

 _Plenty of things_ , Ochako thought as the familiar question floated in her mind. She was not interested in going down that road, even if she had any time to spare.

Her thumbs moved rapidly across the screen of the phone. She hit send and tossed her phone back deep into her gym bag.

"He's my best friend. And it went good," the message read simply. She was tempted to direct a longer, angrier rant at Mina, but knew it would do little good.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. It would do no good to get worked up at Mina's teasing. She had real work to get to, even if it was just history homework. The stairway to her dreams had many tiny steps.

* * *

The sticky heat permeating the classroom made Ochako feel a little hazy. She tried her best to focus on the words of Aizawa in front of her. But the beautiful sunshine and blue sky just outside their windows called to her like a siren. It made her more than eager to head outside and do some hero work in the field.

She darted her eyes quickly around the classroom and saw she was not the only one looking restless. The dog days of summer were here. Being stuck in a humid classroom for heroic ethics class was nobody's idea of fun.

Though there were always a couple of exceptions to that.

"Now, who can tell me under what circumstances would you want to communicate with a villain before they are apprehended?" Aizawa asked after writing on the chalkboard.

His piercing gaze scanned the room. Ochako tried to look attentive but didn't raise her hand, unsure of the answer. Their class had been through a historical number of serious villain encounters. The number of times she had heard heroes talk with villains made it hard to parse a correlation.

"Anyone besides Yaoyorozu for a change?" Their erasing teacher asked again. Ochako could see she was far from the only one uninterested in answering today. Idly, Ochako glanced over at Deku, sitting next to her, intensely scribbling notes as usual but making no motion to raise his hand.

Aizawa sighed. "Fine. Go ahead Yaoyorozu."

"When you need to gather information from a villain, it is considered occasionally practical to talk to them during an encounter," Momo answered. Ochako figured the answer was textbook-perfect.

"Very good," Aizawa nodded. "However, there is a second reason, one that too few heroes — and textbooks — consider. Can anyone guess what that is?"

Silence filled the room. Even Yaoyorozu looked uncertain as she tried to glance through her notes to find an answer.

"Shinso," Aizawa addressed, directing his gaze toward the boy at the back of the class. Shinso had joined Class 3-A earlier this year, to the surprise of many. Ochako found him a little unnerving, but Deku's enthusiasm about Shinso's promotion had helped ease him into the class.

"You should know this one. Although I am speaking more generally than just to activate your specific quirk," Aizawa said, as the boy arose to answer.

"Distractions," Shono answered in a monotone, looking bored by the question.

"That's exactly right," Aizawa replied with a bit more energy. "If you need to buy time against a villain — whether to stall for help, analyze them, or buy time for civilians — talking it out to create a distraction can be surprisingly effective. Especially if you can get them to monologue. Not every battle need be won by using your quirk to make someone submit."

Aizawa scanned the room. Ochako stood a little straighter as he looked at her, but not everyone came to an immediate attention.

"You should all consider this as another tool in your arsenal. Sometimes, the best way to give yourself an opening is to distract your opponent. To some, it may seem to be an underhanded tactic, and those people should get over those concerns immediately," Aizawa explained.

Ochako dutifully nodded, scribbling the message in her notes best she could. It sounded a little strange, and she doubted she had the guile to distract a villain that way. But it made sense, especially for an espionage-focused hero like Aizawa.

"Clearly, I need to do a little more to wake you guys up," Aizawa said as he picked up his sleeping bag from behind his desk. A few people, Ochako included, snickered at the irony.

"Since we only have a little bit more time today, perhaps we should talk about this year's Summer Sports Festival."

It felt like a jolt of lightning surged through the class. Everyone immediately came to attention at those three words. Ochako followed suit, leaning forward and focusing intently. This was the announcement everyone had been waiting on for weeks.

"The U.A. Summer Sports Festival will take place in two weeks time," Aizawa announced, pausing at a few excited murmurs from his class. "You are all well aware of how important this will be. This is your last and greatest chance to show yourself to the whole world. The laurels of your past victories won't mean much after this. The hero world is sadly about 'what have you done for me lately.' If you fail here, nobody will care about how you did last year.

Ochako idly glanced toward Deku, looking intently at their teacher while his hand danced across the page. His dramatic victory over Todoroki in finals of the second year had gotten a few headlines. But she knew he would never be content relying on that win, regardless of Aizawa's warning.

"Succeed, and you will open up a world of opportunity. For those of you aiming at the top, getting scouted at this tournament is practically a prerequisite."

Her mouth folded into a grim line of determination. There was no way she was going to lose out this time. After a rather lacklustre exit in the semifinals against Todoroki in the second year, she was adamant about making it to the finals, no matter who she went up against.

"And for those of you that fail to impress…" Aizawa trailed off. "Well, your chances of becoming a real pro plummet."

She gulped at that but nodded in understanding. Her dreams of becoming a pro hero, helping people and giving her parents the life they deserved, were highly dependent on her tournament performance. She knew that would likely be the case. She was ready for it, even if hearing it stated so matter-of-factly was daunting.

"That being said, you're a unique bunch. I don't say this lightly, but you have all been through more than any other class in our school's history. I don't doubt that... _most_ of you are capable of becoming pros, And you should all know by now there are many roads to becoming a hero," Aizawa said, his voice maintaining its regular monotone despite the inspiring nature of his words. The teacher glanced toward Shinso, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Aww, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to us, sensei," Toru said brightly, as the arms of her uniform waved in the air.

"You've all come a long way," Aizawa continued, pointedly ignoring the comment. "Train hard these next two weeks to give it your all. Class dismissed."

Ochako watched as Aizawa dashed out of the room, closing the door just as the room exploded in a cavalcade of excitement.

The class burst into an enthusiastic chorus as students chattered about the prospect of their final Summer Sports Festival. For the moment, they were not opponents, but comrades, ready to show off to the world together.

Ochako could appreciate the levity. She glanced over at Deku and flashed him a wide grin, which was answered in-kind.

"So what do you-" she began to say but was stopped by another explosion of noise.

"Damn, I have been waiting for this for way too long," Bakugo interrupted her as he walked toward Deku, slamming two palms down on the desk. The explosive boy raised one of his hands, tensed like a claw with sparks going off around it. "I'm going to pay you back for last year, loser."

Ochako could see Deku gulp, but he otherwise showed no sign of fear. She had watched the boy mature before her eyes. He no longer flinched when confronted by his childhood bully, now able to maintain a look of defiance.

"We'll see, Kacchan," Deku replied firmly, voice steady under the looming threat of Bakugo. "But I have no intention of losing to you."

The sparks in Bakugo's right hand intensified. He looked ready to burst, but Todoroki stepped forward towards the pair. Ochako let out the breath she had unconsciously started holding. Surely, Todoroki could cool the situation down.

"Midoriya can't lose to you," Todoroki stated icily. "Because I have to get my rematch in the finals. And win this time."

Ochako groaned as he only piled on more fuel to the inferno growing between them. She watched the three exchanged barbed, challenging glares at one another, none wanting to lose the impromptu staring contest. Ochako could feel a few pairs of eyes at the back of her head, watching the 'big three' of their class as intently as she was.

"My money's on Midoriya," Tsuyu whispered from behind her, earning a few quiet chuckles.

The challenge posed by the class's strongest trio was daunting. They were the three kings atop the summit of their class — and thus all of U.A. — by a wide margin. They all had weaknesses, but the rest of Class 3-A had long since learned how hard it was to keep up with those trailblazers.

Ochako balled her hands into fists. No matter how far ahead they got, she was not content with admitting defeat. All three of them presented a challenge she would likely have to overcome if she was going to get to the top of the sports festival. If she was going to get the notoriety she needed to get a good start to her pro career, it would probably involve defeating at least one of these three students in front of her.

Without thinking, she rose to the challenge.

"You've all got it wrong," she stood up from her seat with gusto, a spirit of fire filling her belly. She put on her most intense glare and raised her fist up into the air, daring them to answer back. "Because I'm going to be the one that wins this year!"

There was a beat of dead silence. Then two. The moment stretched. Ochako tried to hold her dramatic, defiant pose, but her fist started to waver in the air.

Todoroki raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she had grown a second head. Bakugo had redirected his curious glance towards her and looked ready to send a few explosive blasts her way. And Deku...well, his eyes were a lot gentler. He looked contemplative as if he was analyzing her like he so often did everything.

"You tell 'em, Ochako!" Mina and Toru cheered in unison from behind her, breaking the awkward silence and jolting the class out of the tense silence.

"As much as I respect all of your conviction," Iida stepped forward with his imposing frame, adjusting the glasses on his face and staring down the ever-growing group of challengers. "I have no intention of losing this year, either."

"And don't count me out!" Kirishima lept on top of his desk, commanding the room. Iida protested but was brushed off by Kirishima. "I've been training really hard and this time, nothing's going to break me down!"

With the mood significantly lightened, even Tsuyu got into the act. "I don't see why I can't win," she stated simply with her trademark blank expression.

The rest of the class, not wanting to fall behind, started making their own increasingly humorous pronouncements of victory at the sports festival. The fires of rivalry cooled back into a warm mirth, which Ochako found herself a little thankful for. She laughed and bantered along with everyone else, appreciating the moment.

She chanced another glance over at Deku, who looked back at her wide a wide smile. His eyes were trained intently on her, but there was a joy in them that made Ochako breathe a sigh of relief. His intensity was still there though, and Ochako could not win the fight against the blush that stained her cheeks under his stare.

"I...I hope we get to fight this time, Uraraka," Deku said in a low voice, unnoticed by the rest of the arguing class. "I think I want to fight against you more than anyone else."

Ochako shook off the flare of romantic feeling and answered Deku with a cocky grin. "Right back at 'ya," she said, offering him her fist.

He gladly bumped it into hers, before the two opened their palms, sliding them against one another and bumping their fists back briefly. It was their special handshake, a small, signature gesture of friendship between the two of them.

The familiar bolts of rivalry surged between them as their hands parted. Ochako relished in the feeling of standing as a rival to her unwitting idol.

Somehow, she knew they would have to face each other in the sports festival. It would be a fated battle between rivals, one she had to overcome to take the next step in her journey.

Despite the odds, Ochako was determined to come out ahead.

* * *

"So just do that, but next time, grab him by the back of the head and go in for the smooch!"

"Mina! Would you-" Ochako choked a little on her cake, sputtering her protest to Mina's teasing. She pounded her chest hard and carefully swallowed, glaring at Mina all the while.

"I'm not giving up yet!" Mina answered, giving Ochako a devious little smile in return. "Besides, your stunt back in class was just too adorable! I wish I had caught your handshake on camera."

Ochako rolled her eyes, taking an angry bite into her strawberry shortcake. She idly glanced around the table of the cafe, meeting the concerned stares of the rest of the girls from her class. She could tell where this was going, and she did not like it.

"You two are just so cute together," Toru gushed while waving a fork in the air haphazardly.

"And you're really close!" Mina added, nodding along with her classmate.

"But-" Ochako tried to interject but was quickly cut off by the invisible girl piling on the peer pressure.

"You're always chatting and training together."

"And honestly, Deku is pretty hot."

"And so sweet!"

"You've already admitted that you love him!"

"So just ask him out already!" Mina and Toru finished in unison, leaning over the table to shove their pouting faces imploringly at Ochako.

Ochako flinched back into her seat, waving her hands in front of her in a futile guard to her friends' advances. She tried to look past Mina and Toru, imploring her more laidback friends for a bit of help.

"Give her some space, you two," Momo requested firmly, giving Ochako a sympathetic look.

The energetic pair relented, sitting back in their seats but keeping their eyes glued to Ochako. They expected a response.

"It probably couldn't hurt just to ask," Tsuyu pitched in. Mina and Toru vigorously nodded in agreement.

"You should all just butt out," Kyoka grumbled while sipping soda from a straw. "She's answered you enough at this point."

Momo was quiet, her face scrunching in thought. "I think you should...consider it, Uraraka," she managed to get her opinion out slowly. "It is our last year at school. It won't be long before we all spread apart."

A sense of melancholy washed over them at those words, all six girls slouching their shoulders and sighing a little mournfully. Ochako went as far as slumping herself down in her chair, leaning her head back to look away from her relentless friends. She blinked at the bright lights of the ceiling before closing her eyes to think.

"I've said this a million times. I'm not going to do it." Ochako bit her tongue from lashing out more. Their prodding was agitating, but she didn't want to offend anybody.

"You've evaded the question a million times," Mina corrected. Ochako looked up to see the pink girl direct another angry pout her way. "It took two years for you to even admit out loud to us that you loved him. But you keep brushing my questions off. I'll stop prodding when you give me a good answer as to why you won't ask him out."

Ochako frowned deeply. She darted her eyes down, focusing intently on the soft texture of her cake. Oh, what she wouldn't give for an easy way out of this conversation. Even a villain attack, horrid as the thought was.

"None of you have started dating either," Ochako deflected in a soft voice, watching as red flashed across Momo's and Jirou's cheeks. Tsuyu and Mina remained unphased though, and Toru...well, Toru was hard to read.

"None of us have a connection with someone like you do with Midoriya," Tsuyu stated simply, to murmurs of general agreement.

"You're all ridiculous," Jirou bemoaned as she took another angry sip from her drinks. She looked pointedly at Ochako. "Just say something to end this."

"...Who said none of us have started dating?" Tooru said, surprisingly quiet.

The table exploded with exclamations, spit-takes and the sound of choking.

"YOU STARTED DATING AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!" Mina screeched, ringing the ears of everyone else at the table.

"Wow, really?! Who is it with?" Momo's eyes lit up like stars.

"This is unexpected," Tsuyu chimed in blankly.

"Congratulations!" Ochako said brightly, genuinely happy for Toru and hopeful that the spotlight might shift onto the invisible girl.

"It kind of happened recently. But I'll only spill if Ochako fesses up," Toru crossed her arms smugly.

Ochako groaned and fell back in her chair, good spirits immediately vanishing as the group directed their curiosity back on her.

"Pleaaaaaaaaaase Ochako," Mina pleaded, crossing her hands in a prayer over the table. "I'm dying to know."

"Which thing are you dying to know about? Tsuyu quipped.

"Everything!" Mina declared with pride. Momo gave her a curt nod of agreement. "Everything about my friend's love lives. So spill, Ochako. Why won't you ask Midoriya out?"

Ochako sighed and closed her eyes, letting her friends focused gazes fall out of her vision for a moment. She did not want to deal with this. But without doing something rude, there was no clear-cut way out of this situation. Even if she stalled today, Mina and Toru probably would not relent prodding her at every opportunity.

She gulped, leaned forward and took the plunge to let a bit of her resolve out.

"Because I am Uravity."

Ochako was answered by blank stares The background clamour of the cafe was all she could hear, prominent as her table fell into silence. Ochako tried to look steadfast against the uncertainty emanating from her friends, but it was difficult.

"I mean...I'm a hero first," Ochako explained, realizing she could not be too vague. "I have to put that ahead of everything else. Always, no matter what."

"Uraraka…" Momo frowned at her, but could not summon anything further.

Her friends all looked like they also wanted to protest, but Ochako refused to let that stop her.

"And that goes double for Deku." She pictured him in her mind, leaping into action in front of her, his small hood fluttering into the wind as he punched at a nameless villain. "More than anyone else I know, he's never stopped focusing on his goal of being a hero. He won't stop for anything until he gets there."

Ochako managed a smile at that thought. She looked down at her hands as the clenched into loose fists. "And I'm not going to stop until I've made the life I want for myself and my parents. I have a long way to go to get there."

"But that doesn't mean you can't date him," Mina sprung out of her seat again as she interjected. But her nervous look faded into a small smile as she tried to win Ochako over. "We're all trying to be heroes, you know. You can still-"

"I don't really think so," Ochako interrupted, giving Mina a gentle, false smile in return. Mina's face fell in reply. "It's already hard enough as it is finding time to hang out with him — and with all of you. It's only going to get harder from here."

Ochako shook her head at the rebuttals plastered across her friend's faces. "I'm okay with things the way they are. I'm not going to risk our friendship on something that probably wouldn't work out. I'm happy playing it safe."

With that, Ochako gave them the best, most glowing smile she could muster, shielding them from her own churning emotions. Her friends looked uneasy. None of them looked like they bought what she was saying.

"I can understand, Ochako," Tsuyu broke the awkward silence. "I can respect what you're saying. It's tough balancing hero work with other stuff."

Ochako nodded in agreement, hopeful that Tsuyu's words might end the conversation. But Tsuyu wasn't finished.

"But are you really comfortable never knowing?" Tsuyu asked her, her beady eyes making Ochako sink a little in her seat. "There's still some time left before we're real heroes. You may never really know if Midoriya and you would work unless you give it a chance."

"Like I said, I'm not willing to take that risk," Ochako grumbled, exasperated by the continued barrage from her friends.

"Even if you two aren't meant to be together," Tsuyu replied, ignoring Ochako's desperation to end the conversation. "I think it's better to try it and find out for sure. You might regret it later if you don't."

Tsuyu's blunt eloquence raised eyebrows around the table. As Ochako tried to ponder how to reply, Mina quickly seized upon the opportunity.

"Yeah, what she said!" Mina waved her hand in the air and pointed directly at Ochako.

"You've got to learn to live your life in the moment!" Mina exclaimed, with a conviction that made her hard to resist.

"Carpe diem," Momo added, nodding to herself with her arms crossed. When she looked up to see a bunch of blank stares, she blushed, realizing her vocabulary had flown over her friends' heads again. "It means to seize the day. In Latin."

"Egghead," Jirou teased, to a couple of snorts around the table as Momo blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, sure, Tsuyu's probably right. Can we move on yet? I think Ochako's getting sick of it."

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Ochako waved her hand half-heartedly, managing to keep her grinning facade. "You raise a good point Tsu, but I've made up my mind on this. I'm sorry."

She refused to let on how much Tsuyu's words made her stomach churn and questions buzz annoyingly in her mind.

"Well, if you're sure," Tsuyu replied. She gave Ochako one more stare, which told Ochako she doubted the girl was really sure, before directing her attention towards Toru. "Didn't you say you would talk about who you're dating once Ochako gave her reason?"

"HECK YEAH YOU DID!" Ashido shouted, attention suddenly preoccupied with her invisible friend.

Ochako breathed a sigh of relief before jumping into the joyous fray with all the bubbliness she could muster.

With the uncomfortable conversation behind her, Ochako relished needling someone else and just hanging out with people she liked. She knew she had it good. She had a wonderful group of friends — when they weren't trying to talk her into asking Deku out. She had accomplished a lot more than the average U.A. student. She had good career prospects and a clear path toward her dreams. She had a loving family. And she had the best friend someone could ever ask for.

It was enough. It had to be.

* * *

Author's Note:: Welcome to my next project and sorry it took a while. I plan to update weekly on Saturdays. I have a lot planned and I hope you'll stick around for the ride. ^_^

This is a spiritual successor to my last IzuOcha battle fic, which can be found here: s/12534317/1/How-Ochako-Learned-to-Stop-Worrying-and-Try-Kicking-His-Butt. However, prior reading is not required.

Thank you to Kingdom Lightz on for editing this story. Thank you to kate7h for the awesome cover art.

Please leave a review and/or favourite if you enjoyed. They mean a lot to me.


	2. Uneasy preparations

Ochako barely had a moment to react to the knee heading straight for her gut.

She tried to quickly sidestep the attack, but Deku responded with a swifter counter. He wound his right arm and struck out before she could react. He connected hard to the left side of her neck with a chop. The blow _hurt_ , the pain spiking strongly enough to momentarily knock her senses out of whack. Deku did not miss the opportunity, grabbing both her hands and twisting her around to pin them behind her back.

"My win?" Deku questioned from behind her, breath a little too close to her ear for comfort. Goosebumps ran up her skin at the proximity of his voice, her eardrums chilled by the soft sound. She grit her teeth, her mind clamping down hard on the physical sensation. She had to get herself under control.

"You got it," she answered between pants of her breath. He released her wrists and she reflexively rubbed them, hissing lightly at the soreness there. It was frustrating to lose so handily to him on the day before the Summer Sports Festival, but she did her best not to let it get her down. She had to learn from the experience, not mope about it.

"You okay?" There he was again, suddenly way too close behind her. Ochako jumped slightly as a water bottle was held out from his outstretched, scarred hand. She turned to her left to see Deku wearing a friendly smile, but his creased eyebrows spoke of concern.

"Ye-yeah," Ochako responded as brightly as she could manage, grabbing onto the water bottle with a swift hand. She was unable to stop the blush staining her cheeks at his thoughtfulness as she eagerly gulped down the water. She tried to focus on the cool refreshment soothing her burning lungs, rather than on the hammering of her heart. She thought steam might start bursting out from her ears at all the different heats surging within her.

"Are you sure? You seemed a little out of it today," Deku prodded her as he walked over to a bench set up next to their training mat. As he sat down to rest his legs, he kept his attention focused squarely on her.

"Yeah, sorry. Just a little nervous I guess," Ochako hurriedly replied, scratching the back of her neck. It wasn't a _total_ lie. Her stomach was in knots at the prospect of the upcoming sports festival.

But the more distressing thing today was how hard it was to keep her feelings about Deku in check. It was the first time they had trained together since her friends had confronted her about their relationship. Tsuyu's words had run amok in her head over the intervening days, popping up in her mind whenever she came across Deku. Now she felt far more flustered around him compared to what she had grown accustomed to, which infuriated her.

She had trained herself out of getting too worked up about him, even if her feelings had not faded in the slightest. But today, every little thing he did was distracting. Every little brush of contact sent warm shocks up her limbs. Every smile and every kind word he spoke sent warmth rushing into through her cheeks and chest. It was hard to fight under those circumstances.

"It is getting pretty close," Deku spoke about the sports festival without enthusiasm, not sounding at all convinced by her answer. He had learned to read her better over the years — calling her out a few times when she tried to mask her darker moments. But he did not say anything further today, and she was thankful he would let it be this time.

"I've been wracking my head about it all week," Ochako replied sincerely. She determinedly trod forward to sit next to him on the bench, like she might do after any training session. Sitting next to him did not have to be a big deal. Her racing pulse did not have to make this awkward.

The duo drank a swig from their bottles in unison, sighing out together as they slowly recovered from their intense workout. They often sat together to just relax and chat after sparring, whenever time allowed for it anyway. It was nice, just being able to talk and bounce ideas off him. He was a good confidante...and a good _friend_.

Her mind hiccupped as she thought of him that way, wanting to say something more. But she kept that desire locked in chains.

"I've been planning it out," Deku said, reaching into his gym bag to yank out a notebook and pencil. The glossy green covered suggested it was new (Ochako was often flabbergasted at how fast he burned through them), but her eyes widened as he flipped through over 100 pages of notes to get to a blank page. The sheets of paper looked worn out.

"I've been trying to update profiles and matchups for the bracket stage," Deku muttered, as he filled in an entry about Iida in the book. Ochako stared at the speed of his hand across the page and the detail captured on it.

"Figures," Ochako said under her breath, shaking her head with a smile. His analytical mind and drive to break down every detail about heroics still confounded her. It was thorough almost to a fault, and she could not fathom where he found the time. But she had come to appreciate the peculiar quirk of his as just another manifestation of his unwavering determination.

"I wish I could make something like that," she lamented softly as she leaned in a little closer for a better look. "Who do you think has the best chances tomorrow?"

"The usual suspects, I guess," Deku replied, eyes focused down as he flipped through the pages. His rather impressive drawings of their classmates appeared as he listed them off. "Todoroki. Bakugo. You. And Tokoyami has really improved these past few months too…"

"Wait, you're actually counting me amongst them?!" Ochako was incredulous. She knew she was good and was determined to do well at this year's festival. But she wasn't stupid. She was an underdog in their class. She was sure Deku's brilliant mind could see that too. She hadn't looked at the betting odds (and was still a little peeved that there were betting odds for the third-year competition), but she was pretty sure she was nowhere close to the top.

But much like Deku himself, she was determined to smash through all those odds.

"Of course I do, Uraraka," he said, with a surety in his voice that made Ochako's breath hitch.

"You have such an amazing control of your quirk now," Deku explained while idly flipping his pages of notes about her. Ochako blushed at the rather accurate portrait of her figure, fist stretched outward and a determined look on her face. "And nobody has spent as much time as you learning different hand-to-hand fighting techniques. Most people in class have just been hung up just trying to master their quirks. You might have a hard time against someone like Todoroki, but nobody stands a chance against you up close."

Ochako could hear her heart beat at the unabashed, genuine praise from her crush. He always found a way to lift her spirits up. The sincerity in his voice made him hard to refute, even to herself.

"Thanks, Deku!" Ochako exclaimed with genuine bubbliness, trying to release a fraction of the good feelings he had imparted to her. "I owe a lot to all that training we've done together. But if I had the money to bet, I'd probably put it on you!"

She watched as Deku turned to regard her in protest, but he stopped himself as he looked at her smiling face. To her amusement, he blushed at the compliment and seemed a little short on words. It was always fun getting him embarrassed.

"Well...it won't be easy," Deku managed to reply after a long pause. "But this is my last chance to impress on this kind of stage. I know if I'm going to start off my career strong, I need to win here. I'm not going to miss this chance."

There it was. The familiar, intense spark in Deku's eyes. The heroic, 'never give up' attitude that often motivated her. It was awe-inspiring, and it made a strange feeling rise within her. A sense of...safety, for lack of a better word. She was reminded a lot of All Might on TV during his heyday when she looked at Deku. This feeling was what gave her an unshakeable faith that he would be the number one hero someday.

"Neither am I." Ochako stood up with a bounce in her step, stretching a little before regarding Deku with the fiercest look she could muster. "Winning here is going to make a big difference on the salary for my first professional contract. I need to get a good start to my career if I want to create the life I want for my parents and for myself."

Deku rose up with her, Ochako's high spirits infectious. "I have no doubt you'll be able to do it, Ochako," Deku encouraged.

"Whaddya say we meet in the finals?" Ochako flashed Deku a challenging grin, punching out in front of her and leaving her fist hanging. She would be happy enough if that proved to be the case. She knew she would not win against him — this was Deku after all — but fighting him in the finals might be good enough for her ends.

"It's a date," Deku smiled back, bumping his own fist into hers.

The sparks of rivalry flashed between them for a moment. But those sparks quickly petered out into something else as the full weight of Deku's utterance settled on them.

"UHH...I MEAN...I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT! Not like a date-date! Like a save-the-date kind of thing!" Deku stuttered as his face went red as a tomato.

For her part, Ochako's face was just as stained, but she took a couple of deep breaths to manage it. She had a little more practice than Deku at pushing through this. In a strange way, seeing how he was just as flustered helped calm her down. "It's...it's fine!" she assured him. "I know what you meant, don't worry about it!"

She managed a shaky smile. Deku paused and seemed to calm down, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Deku scratched the back of his neck. "I should go get changed. Meet you outside?"

"Sure, let's do that," Ochako replied all-too eagerly. She quickly gathered her things and sprinted to the change rooms escape the awkward end to their conversation. She was grateful there were relatively few people in the sprawling gym facility.

As she got out of her sweaty training clothes, Ochako tried to calm herself down. Something deep within her had roared in triumph at Deku uttering "it's a date" towards her. It was more than she cared to deal with. For whatever reason, the thought had excited her in ways she was reluctant to admit.

" _It's better to try it and find out for sure. You might regret it later if you don't_." Tsuyu's words echoed through Ochako's mind again, ringing clear as a bell. She sighed deeply, sitting down on a bench and rubbing her temple.

She let the rising tide of affection pass through her. She was above this. She had more important things to worry about. Right now especially, she did not have time to deal with these feelings. The biggest tournament of her life was ahead of her. She could put these emotions aside and handle them later, one way or another, after she placed at the sports festival.

With heart back under lock and key, Ochako stepped out of the change room with a little more bounce in her step. She saw Deku by the exit, who waved at her while wearing a friendly grin. Her heart rattled in its chains, but she had it firmly under control again.

But as the pair walked together toward their dorm building, the sun beaming overhead, Tsuyu's advice buzzed in her mind again. As she looked at Deku, his eyes toward the horizon, curiosity had a question tumbling from her lips before she could think it through.

"Hey, Deku...have you ever thought about what your life might be like in the future, outside of being a hero?"

The question caused Deku to pause, halting Ochako along with him. She watched as Deku turned contemplative, taking his time to consider.

A rush of fear and anxiety fell upon her at the silence. How could she suddenly ask him something like that?

"It's okay if you don't want to answer, I was just-" her hurried retraction was cut off sharply before she could finish.

"You know, for the longest time, I really hadn't," Deku replied, inclining his head to look into her eyes. Ochako froze in place at the soft look within them, so different from their usual blazing intensity. They captivated her. "All I ever really dreamed of was being a hero and helping people, like All Might. If I could do that, I knew I would be happy. I didn't need to think about anything else."

Ochako nodded politely. "That's just like you, Deku," she affirmed her understanding. She knew him to a tee. At the end of the day, there was only one thing on Deku's mind for the future. She tried not to let that disappoint her.

"But lately, I have been thinking about life beyond that," Deku admitted, causing Ochako's eyebrows to quirk up in surprise. "I didn't really have many friends when I was a kid, so I didn't really think about having much of a social life." He scratched the back of his head, suddenly looking away from her.

"Deku…" Ochako cooed sympathetically. She had grown familiar with his history, and every day was astonished as to how such a sweet person could ever have had a hard time making friends.

"But now I'm blessed," Deku said, smiling again, immediately brightening Ochako's spirits. "There's Iida, Todoroki, Tsuyu, Kirishima, Ashido...you…" Ochako swallowed the startled pang of her heart as he paused, directing his eyes toward her again.

"There are so many people I want to keep in touch with. I can't imagine my life without any of them in it anymore," Deku said, keeping his gaze intently focused on her. Ochako felt her cheeks redden under his stare as she instinctively crossed her hands in front of her.

"And then I have Eri to think about it. I'm not really sure what might happen after I graduate, but whatever it is, I know I need to be there for her too."

Ochako nodded again. The sweet little girl was practically glued to Deku's hip whenever they were together. Aizawa was looking after her, but she was spending more and more time at the U.A. dorms. What the arrangement might be after Deku left school was still undetermined.

"I've still got to work it all out. And maybe I won't be able to do anything about it. But I'll try whatever I can to keep the people I care about close," Deku stated decidedly, a heroic fire igniting in his irises again. "Especially you, Uraraka."

Ochako wondered if her heart stopped. It was hard to tell, overwhelmed as she was with the feeling of her face aflame and her mind at war between urges to run for the hills or grab Deku by the head and just-

"I-I mean, because you're my best friend!" Deku's confidence, and the rising swell of passion inside her, were snuffed as easily as candlelight. Friends. They were just friends. Nothing more. Never more. That is what she wanted.

"I...you...I owe so much to you. You're my best friend, Uraraka. I...I don't want that to stop after we graduate."

Ochako immediately felt a surge of affection towards the boy, washing away any sense of disappointment at his previous words. "I feel the same way, Deku," she said sincerely, smiling up at him. "And don't worry, because there's no way I'm going to stop hanging out with you when we go pro!"

Deku beamed at her, his mouth widening with a childlike smile. "Thanks, Uraraka. It means a lot."

An awkward silence fell between their happy faces. There was some surety between them, but a lot of things left unsaid.

A part of her wondered if maybe this was an opportunity. He was making it very hard to resist acting on her romantic urges towards him. Maybe Tsuyu was right. Maybe she needed to take the plunge, to find out for sure.

"We should probably get going," Deku broke her silent contemplation, taking a few tentative steps forward on the path back to the dorms. "Big day tomorrow, and I still have some homework to take care of. How about you?"

Ochako chased those previous urges out of her head, banishing the clouds in her mind. She stepped forward with him, focused intently on the dorms.

"Yeah, me too. Going to have to get plenty of rest before tomorrow."

The two parted with amicable farewells once they got to their dorms, Ochako making a beeline for her room. Fortunately, she managed to avoid any of her classmates as she sprinted through the facility before arriving at her door.

She walked in with a sense of urgency, slamming the door shut behind her. Exhaustion overcame her as she stumbled over to her bed and collapsed, sighing into her pillow.

Her muscles ached in a mixture of weariness and relief. But her mind was buzzing, a small migraine starting to form as she tried to sort out all of the different thoughts fluttering in her head.

Ochako tried focus on something else for a moment as she reached into her bag, pulled out her phone and looked through her notifications. Surprisingly, there was no text from Mina this time. She might be suspicious of that, but she figured Mina was probably busy training as hard as everyone else.

As she slashed through a couple of junk email notifications, she saw a flash of red and noticed her mother had tried to call her shortly after her sparring session started. Cursing internally, Ochako quickly pulled out the contact list on her phone, scrolled to her mother and pressed to call back.

"Hello?" The warm, comforting voice of her mother immediately soothed her frayed nerves.

"Hey mom," Ochako greeted her brightly, trying not to let exhaustion show in her voice. "What's up?"

"Hey sweetie! I just wanted to check in before your big day tomorrow. How are you holding up?"

Ochako breathed deeply before replying. "I'm doing alright. A little nervous, but I feel confident."

"Glad to hear it, hon. We know you'll do great!"

"Yeah...thanks mom," Ochako said sincerely, but her weariness let out a little in her reply. There was a lot of pressure for tomorrow.

"Hey…" her mother said a little softer. "No matter what happens, we're proud of you. You're already an incredible hero. Don't stress out too hard about this."

"I know, mom," Ochako said breathily, eyes getting a little watery at her mother's encouragement. She was reminded again of why she worked so hard for them. She had to pay them back.

"There's something else…" her mother continued, her voice pitching a little higher in unrestrained excitement. "Some good news, hon. We're gonna be there watching you in the stands tomorrow!"

"YOU'LL WHAT?!" Ochako shrieked in a mixture of happiness and anxiety. Her parents being in the stands was amazing to think about, but tickets to the U.A. Summer Sports Festival were not cheap!

"We got a pair of tickets in the mail yesterday. I think U.A. sends them to all the third-year parents," Ochako's mother explained. "I'll admit, bullet train tickets are a little pricey these days. couldn't miss this, honey! We just had to be there to support you!"

"Mom…" Ochako still had misgivings, but they were overwhelmed by the joy she felt at the thought of getting to see her parents tomorrow. "I can't wait to see you. Can I meet you at the train station?"

"No need for that, hon," her mother insisted. "We're going to catch a really early one to get there in time. You get your rest and we'll try and catch up during a break."

"Alright, mom. But I'll come find you as soon as I get a chance!"

"Sounds good. You get some shut-eye now, ya hear? Unless there's anything else you want to talk about?"

The invitation tempted Ochako. She wondered if her mother might have some good advice about her mixed up feelings about Deku.

But she decided against it. She had not confided her longtime crush to her parents and she figured she'd keep it that way. It was a little embarrassing, and she did not want to spend her limited time with them getting pressed about her feelings. Better not give them false impressions about her situation with Deku (which they had pried into more than once).

"No, I'm alright. Just need to get some rest for tomorrow," Ochako replied with a dash of bubbliness. She hoped her voice sounded less troubled than she felt.

"You've got this hon. Have a good night. Love you."

"Love you too, mom." Ochako hung up the phone with a shaky fingertip. She sunk herself deeper into her mattress and tried to collect her thoughts.

In spite of herself, her mind ran back to her interactions with Deku today. He was acting a little weird around her lately. It reminded her of when they first met and he would become flustered for no discernible reason.

She wracked her mind but couldn't make much sense of it. A part of her wanted to hope he might be getting flustered for the same reasons she would — a crush. But years of easygoing camaraderie made that possibility seem unlikely. He had never indicated he had romantic feelings for her. Why would that change now?

But the commitment to stay friends after school was over...she stared up at the ceiling and smiled as she remembered it. He truly was the best friend someone could ever ask for. Even if a part of her wished he would have said something more, she was more than happy just being able to stay his friend after they graduated.

It would be hard. They would both lead busy lives. But when Deku was determined to do something, she had long-since learned he would always make it happen. And she would do her part to ensure it did, too.

She could be content with that.

With her head tentatively wrapped around the Deku situation, she threw herself into focusing on the Summer Sports Festival. She may not have a detailed breakdown of everyone in Class 3-A, but she knew she was strong. She would have to adapt on the fly based on the challenges, but she had a wide arsenal she could harness to deal with whatever came her way.

As she went through some late-night stretches, she glanced toward the framed photo of her parents on her desk. They would be there, watching her. The two people she loved more than anyone else. The two people she was fighting for.

When she finally went to bed, her final rest before one of the most important days of her life, it was her parent's faces that floated through her mind.

She would do them proud.


	3. What goes up

"It's alright, I got you! Just hold onto me and everything will be fine!"

Without giving the elderly "Help Us Company" (H.U.C) agent a chance to respond, Ochako gently hoisted her on her back and leapt from the roof of the apartment building, removing gravity from herself and gently floating down to the safety of the urban streets below.

"COME BACK HERE YOU DAMNED HERO!" the faux villain — a towering man in a red outfit with a spike-generation quirk — roared in anger as he floated helplessly in her wake. Ochako kept her cool, releasing the man behind her from her quirk so as to not waste her energy. She took some small satisfaction in the distant _thump_ behind her as she continued her descent.

When her feet softly touched the ground, she sprinted over to the medical tent in the urban sprawl that hosted the first challenge in the U.A. Summer Sports Festival. It was a similar test to their provisional licence exams; search and rescue in a 'disaster zone' with the ever-judgemental H.U.C agents as the rescuees.

However, there were a few more twists this time. Firstly, the victims of the challenge were far more spread out in a massive city for the heroes to find. The H.U.C. agents were also not being rescued from a disaster area. They were being rescued from villain kidnapping. Each and every one of them. All stolen by a different villain, who were being played by pro heroes.

Ochako was not sure how many of the students had been able to take on an actual pro to rescue someone and score points. Fortunately, she had already managed to catch a pair of pros off-guard with her quirk and dash away with civilians before they could react.

She burst through the tent with her second charge just as the alarm sounded for the first challenge to end. The massive tent was filled with beds and H.U.C. agents of all ages scribbling onto notepads with fervour. She disengaged the elderly-looking woman from her back, standing her right next to a bed.

"Thank you, deary. You were very gentle. Well done," the H.U.C agent complimented, surprising Ochako with her kindness.

"Don't mention it. The medical staff here will help you. I've got to head back out, but everything will be fine now!" Ochako exclaimed with her voice pitched a little lower, trying to sound as heroic as possible. The bell may have rung, but she did not trust the agent to not dock her points if she showed any weakness.

She gave the lady what she hoped was a comforting smile before dashing out of the tent and promptly puked onto the asphalt.

"Ugh…" Ochako groaned when she finally recovered, wiping the bile from her mouth. "That was a little overboard." She had kept her quirk activated on her clothes for speed during the majority of the hour-long challenge. Coupling that with having to dodge past two pro heroes had pushed her past her limit.

"You okay there?" the familiar voice of Deku sounded from behind her. She turned and saw Iida there with him, both with worry etched across their faces.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Ochako answered sincerely, bouncing back upright to show her vigour. "Just a little worn out. How'd you guys do?"

"Well, I managed to rescue two civilians. Those pros really held nothing back," Iida answered with his usual seriousness, rubbing his bicep a little gingerly. "Midoriya here led the pack with three."

"Wow, really? Awesome!" Ochako almost jumped up as she flashed Deku with a wide, beaming smile. She noticed Deku blush, but he kept himself composed otherwise.

"Well, I was lucky to find some good matchups out there. I mostly just tried to speed past them before they could react," Deku muttered, adding a few more mumbles about heroes Ochako didn't recognize. "How about you?"

"Just got the two," Ochako replied, sighing a little ruefully. She had worked so hard, yet Deku still outpaced her without much trouble. "I hope that's enough."

"I expect it will be for this round," Iida replied, voice light and cheery by his standards. "I think most of the students only got one. Regretfully, some in our class did not manage any."

"Oh no…" Ochako muttered. With the pool of students limited to the hero course in the third year, she had hoped Class 3-A could at least all make it past the first round together.

As if on cue, Present Mic's voice blared over the speakers, causing the trio to flinch at his screechy voice.

"Alright young heroes! Please turn your attention to the big screen near the exit to see where you rated! Remember, only the top 32 will advance! Best of luck!"

Ochako inhaled as she watched the names pop on screen, ranked in order. She started from the top and worked her way down. Izuku Midoriya...Shoto Todoroki...Ochako Uraraka…

"YES!" Ochako did not contain her excitement, leaping into the air with joy. She was shocked she actually placed in third but delighted all the same. Her hard work training was paying off.

Deku raised a hand next to her, which she gladly hit with a loud smack.

"That's amazing Uraraka!" His genuine enthusiasm and shining eyes made her heart flutter. She stamped down hard on the familiar feeling, but did not let it sully her good mood.

"Look who's talking!" Ochako teased, raising her right index finger to indicate his placement.

"Well done you two. I knew you would both make it," Iida chipped in. His good spirits indicated to Ochako that he had also likely qualified. She swung her head back up to the screen to look at the rest of the names who qualify. Iida's stood out in sixth place.

The majority of the Class 3-A also made it through, with Mineta, Koda and Aoyoma the only ones to miss out. The majority of the cull fell on Class 3-B's side.

Ochako noted that Bakugo was surprisingly low on the list, only placing 23rd. She supposed he got deducted a lot of points for the brazen way he tended to deal with rescue situations, his usual downfall on rescue tests.

"Those of you moving on, please make your way to the main arena for the next challenge!"

"Well, we best get going quickly. Wouldn't want to be late," Iida stated, starting off at a brisk pace out of Ground Beta. Ochako giggled in unison with Deku at his businesslike tone as the two walked forward to join him.

She chatted excitedly with her two best friends, sending a few thumbs-up to her fellow classmates as the winners walked in a pack toward the main arena.

Much like previous years, the scale of the first stage of competition had required them to keep outside of the main festival arena, this time using the familiar Ground Beta. The logistics meant the students had not even started at the arena, making Ochako all the more excited for what the next stage would bring.

"You guys nervous?" Mina popped in next to them with a relaxed stride, wearing an enthusiastic grin.

Surprisingly, Ochako did not think she was. Her pulse was regular, her breathing steady and her head clear. The prospect of competing was daunting, but now that the competition had started, she felt right at home. Ultimately, the challenge of the festival did not hold a candle to the life-or-death nature of their villain encounters.

"A little bit," Deku admitted to his nerves, surprising Ochako. She looked over to see him pulling on his chin in thought. "It's just tough not knowing what they would throw at us next. With 32 people, at least half of us will probably get cut in this next challenge."

Deku's works evoked something akin to a gravitational surge suddenly pressing down onto her. It was just like him, always thinking and analyzing his next steps. She realized she should not be too relaxed, especially with a hard cut in the competition to come.

"Geez, Deku, way to kill the buzz," Mina teased, sending a friendly wink at Ochako. "As if someone like you has anything to worry about."

"I just want to be prepared!" Deku uttered quickly, dropping his hands and looking flustered. "I'm not taking anything for granted in this."

"Midoriya's right," Iida chimed in, expression deadpan and arms crossed. "We should all be thinking hard about what's next and maintain our focus."

"You guys are no fun," Mina groaned out, pouting. "You're not going to get anywhere if you're so wound up all the time. Right... _Uravity_?"

The utterance of her hero name threw Ochako for a loop. She found herself suddenly struggling to form a coherent response to the barbed jab. She got a sinking feeling the comment did not have much to do with the Summer Sports Festival.

"I'm just teasing, relax," Mina shook her head and rolled her eyes as she spoke. "You guys do you. Best of luck in the next round!" With that, Mina rushed off to chatter with Toru, leaving the trio to their own devices.

"What was that about?" Deku asked, stroking his chin again. Iida just shook his head and gave a half-hearted shrug.

"I...uh...I dunno either," Ochako stuttered, her stomach suddenly churning in a mixture of frustration and embarrassment. That Mina would try to bring up a veiled jab at her own attitude towards Deku was a little dirty.

She looked towards the boy in question, who regarded her with a concerned stare. Ochako realized she was letting too much on, before taking a deep breath to compose herself.

 _Focus, Ochako. Priorities, priorities._

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Ochako answered Deku's silent question, flashing him and Iida an easygoing grin. "We should be focusing on what comes next, right?"

The silence that hung in the air for a moment was frightened her. But Deku didn't take long to read the cue before responding with a curt nod. "Right. We've got a tough test ahead."

The chatter between them slowed as they got closer and closer to the festival arena. The nervous energy within the student heroes rose as their battleground became visible over the horizon. Ochako's ears picked up a low murmur of the crowd, the echoes and excitement carrying out some distance.

The murmur grew louder and louder as they walked along a paved side path to back entrance of the arena, away from the eager eyes of the people out front. The crowd effectively silenced conversation between most of the group as everyone started getting back into the headspace of competition. The challenge would not start immediately after they entered the arena, but there was more than that to consider. The heroes scouting in the audience would be watching their every move. Nobody wanted to mess up walking in, potentially costing them valuable points in the eyes of the public.

A lone figure appeared in the distance, heading out from the arena. As the emaciated man became visible, Ochako watched everyone visible straighten their posture. All Might may look like a twig compared to his glory days, but he still commanded respect from just about every hero in the world.

"Good morning heroes!" All Might shouted as he approached them, deep voice no longer carrying the resounding boom it once did. "Well done in your first challenge! You all did splendidly!"

Murmurs of "thank you" and "yes sir'" echoed throughout the pack of students. Ochako kept her mouth silent. She noticed a pile of white headbands All Might had draped over his right arm. She side-eyed Deku, noticing him staring just as intently at them.

"The reason I'm here," All Might explained as he held up his right arm and made the headbands more visible. "Is to give you these. Well, half of you to be more precise. Those of you that finished in the top-16, please take one of these and wear them on either your head or neck. You'll learn why once the next challenge starts."

There was a lot of whispers and more than a few annoyed grumbles as the top-16 filed in to pick up their headbands. Ochako quickly clamoured into the line behind Deku. She watched as the students moved quickly before Deku stepped forward to take the headband from his idol. No words were exchanged between the two, just curt nods before Deku grabbed his keep and stepped off to the side.

Ochako went forward next, staring up into the sunken eyes of All Might. They were hard to read and more than a little intimidating, but Ochako kept her anxiety down and kept her hand steady as she grabbed onto the headband.

"Good luck," the ex-pro said to her in a low voice. Ochako nodded in reply, mimicking Deku as she walked away from All Might. She did not dwell on the encounter, quickly wrapping the band around her head and pulling the knot at the back forcefully.

"Well, this is certainly a little familiar," Iida said as he stepped in from behind her, headband already affixed to his head. "I wonder what exactly they have planned for this."

"It might be some kind of large team battle, "Deku murmured in reply while tugging at his chin. "Or perhaps the two groups will be completely separate, I've heard about them doing a couple of tests like that before. They clearly want to narrow us down to 16, so it must have something to do with that."

"Well whatever it is, I am sure we can handle it," Iida stated succinctly, cutting off Deku's analytical musings. "We may not have another chance to really talk before the next test begins, so I just wanted to wish both of you good luck and no hard feelings, no matter what happens.

Iida extended his hand out with a firm smile, standing tall and proud. Ochako gave him a gentle smile in return, her heart warming at his gesture. As overly serious as he was, she counted herself lucky to have a friend like him.

"Right back at you," Deku replied, placing his hand on top of Iida's. The two friendly rivals stared each other down, but the camaraderie overpowered the sparks of competition between them. "I hope we can all make it to the bracket stage."

Ochako did not wait before slamming her own hand onto the pile, baring her teeth in a cocksure grin. As fast as her two friends could move, she did not want to be left completely behind by them. The friendly rivalry was amping her up and she eagerly drunk in the fire surging through her veins. She much preferred it to the cold uncertainty of anxiety.

"We'll definitely make it!" Ochako exclaimed, pumping her fist with her free hand. She ignored the tingling sensation on her fingertips as they made contact with Deku's scarred hand. She looked up to see Deku's eyes twinkle and his mouth curl up gently. His cheeks were mysteriously red, but Ochako could not fathom why.

The three mutually disentangled their gathered hands, eyes flashing quickly between each other as the contact between them broke. The friendliness faded quickly as the trio nodded and walked forward with the rest of their class.

The rumbling of the crowd got louder and louder as the students approached the stadium. A loud burst of distant cheering sounded out, and Ochako thought she could hear the trademark screech of Present Mic amping the crowd up. The massive back doorway was in sight now, iron doors wide open, the green turf of the arena visible through the passage.

Ochako wore her best war face and put a little more thought into every step. She was a little thankful she was in the middle of the pack and would not have to be the first one through the doors.

Idly, she looked around and see most everyone else wore expressions similar to her, but a standout few did otherwise. Some were trying to go for a more carefree look, like Mina and Kaminari. Others went for a more eager and intimidating, like Bakugo and Kirishima. And some were…mysterious, for lack of a better word, like Toru.

But those were not the looks Ochako wanted to go for. She wanted to be taken seriously. She wanted to be counted amongst the steely, determined faces at the top of Class 3-A.

The roar of the crowd as the class stepped into the sunshine was deafening. Ochako blinked her eyes a bit as the sunlight bore down on them. The massive arena and the stands filled with thousands of people materialized under the light before her. She had competed here a couple of times now but nevertheless was awed by the scope of it all. Still, she did her best not to let her nerves show, maintaining her determined expression with practised ease.

"LET'S HEAR IT FOR YOUR THIRD YEAR COMPETITORS!" Present Mic blared his voice over the speakers and the crowd erupted in a fresh bout of cheers.

Ochako roamed her eyes over the crowd, wondering if she could spot her parents. Unfortunately, everyone was a little too small from this distance to make out. Still, she tried to take some comfort in the fact they would be together soon.

With that pleasant thought, Ochako focused her attention back on the arena in front of her. The lush green of the turf popped against the clay track located in the centre of the stage. This time, however, Ochako noticed 32 circular stone slabs interspersed equally around the clay portion of the arena, about three feet tall and five feet wide. She focused on them, puzzled by their purpose.

"Competitors, please make your way to your those rocks you see in front of you! Only one per student now!" Mic explained on cue. The students dutifully followed the instruction, dispersing across the arena like a small wave crashing against rock. Ochako did her best to maintain her upright gait. She got turned away from a couple of stones as other students moved quicker, but eventually found her way to one and stood atop it.

Ochako took a moment to breathe in the atmosphere and the murmurings of the crowd once more. The rock was solid beneath her feet, and she planted herself in a firm stance. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, ready for whatever was to come.

She looked around and analyzed her surroundings. The track was massive and it was hard to make out everyone with how spread apart they were. Deku was nowhere to be seen, evidently somewhere farther away, but she could see the people immediately around her.

Bakugo's red eyes stood out from across the field, and Ochako could not help but gulp as he sent an angry glare her way. She tried her best to look intimidating in return, but she was pretty sure it did not work. Nobody could hold a candle to Bakugo when it came to menacing glances.

Deciding to turn away for the moment – better to avoid all the bad memories associated with Bakugo at the sports festival – she looked to the slabs closest to her sides. She gasped and was a little relieved to see Iida on her right, although he kept his eyes forward and focused. Nodding in understanding, she turned to her left to see Tsuyu, who was a little more casual. The frog girl, who had also managed to claim a top-16 headband in the last round, waved at her, which Ochako returned in kind.

"Before we begin the next round, a few words from our principal, Nezu!" Present Mic's disembodied voice sounded, to a few smatterings of applause from the audience. Ochako did not have the sightline to see the announcer's booth where Nezu was presumably standing, but she contented herself with listening intently.

"Thank you all for joining us today, and thank you, competitors, for putting on a fine performance in the first round! Win or lose, you all represent the best and brightest U.A. has to offer. You students are top notch, and I have no doubt you can all be fine heroes someday. Truly, the next generation of heroes, represented here today, could be the greatest yet!"

Ochako quirked her eyebrows at the praise as she heard the crowd murmur and grumble at the speech. The principal was laying it on a little thick, but she guessed he was trying to use this opportunity for a bit of a sales pitch for U.A. students. She supposed the school had a reputation to maintain. Still, she could not say she minded getting a little extra publicity.

"Now, with that being said, I will explain the next challenge!" Nezu said, to a mixture of cheers and grumbles from the crowd. Clearly, the masses were getting a little impatient.

"Sixteen of you have been given headbands, representing the top sixteen finishers in the previous challenge. This next test is very simple and will last for 20 minutes. The sixteen students in possession of the headbands when time runs out will be the ones who get to move on!"

There was a quiet rumble in the arena as everyone tried to process that information. At first, it sounded a little weird, like the top finishers had an automatic pass. But Ochako realized what it meant right away as she looked across at Bakugo, who sent a fiendish smirk her way, baring his teeth a little. Ochako gulped but kept her eyes steady.

"That's right, it's a free-for-all!" Nezu confirmed, voice ringing with a tinge of sadistic glee. "If you have a headband, you must wear it on your head or neck. You can only have up to two headbands – no exceptions – until the last five minutes, when that goes down to one. If you go above the limit, you have ten seconds to get back under or you will be automatically disqualified. Feel free to use your quirks however you wish, but keep it within reason. Our teachers have discretion and will step in to remove you if you push things too far."

Ochako let the words move quickly through her ears as she wrecked her mind for a strategy. Since she had a headband, she could focus on playing defensive. She could use her quirk to float away from the rest of the competitors, keep in the air and stay out of harm's way.

But 20 minutes was a long time for prolonged self-levitation, longer than she had ever managed before. It was an all-or-nothing plan. If she could not hold it, she'd fall and be easy prey for whoever decided to attack her. But she figured it was probably her best chance, rather than risking it in the chaos of a 32 person free-for-all.

"COMPETITORS, ON YOUR MARKS!" Present Mic's booming voice snapped across the arena, sending a few tingles down Ochako's spine. She bent her knees and got ready to lift off, flexing her fingers to prepare to quickly tap herself. If they were not going to give them much preparation time, she'd just have to deal with it.

 _You've got this_ , she tried to encourage herself, taking a deep breath. _Keep your cool and you'll be fine._

"GO!"

Ochako felt the air rush around her ears as she pushed with all the power her legs could muster, making it a good 40 feet off the ground in her first jump. She scanned her eyes around her as she slowed, trying to make sure she broke away successfully from her competitors.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, URARAKA?!"

The sound of ear-ringing shouts and explosions quickly warned her she was not going to get away scot-free. Ochako looked down to see Bakugo careening toward her, blasting himself off the ground like a rocket with a series of large explosions. He was closing the distance fast, focused on her as his first target. She cursed her luck, unsure of why he decided to target her.

Ochako took a shaky breath and got ready to counter. She could not get into much of a fighting stance hanging in the air, but she stared him down while raising her fists up defensively in front of her.

"I'm not…" she whispered to herself, voice lost in the wind. "This isn't going to be like last time."

Bakugo was only a few metres away from her now, ready to make his attack. With eyes blazing, he got nearly level with her, before rearing up his right arm to blast.

"WHY DON'T YOU SIT-" Bakugo shouted, as his hand sparked intensely. He did not hold back, setting off a massive explosion straight at her. "DOWN!"

"Release," she tapped her fingers together just as his blast left his hand, allowing her to plummet like a rock to dodge the blow.

Ochako grit her teeth and angled her fall towards Bakugo, allowing the explosion to knock her in his direction. With the pair of them propelled backwards by the blast, Ochako managed to direct her descent to wind up below Backugo, grabbing onto his heel as the two started to plummet.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Baku shouted as he suddenly felt something weighing him down, looking to see Ochako staring up at him. For her part, Ochako directed a smirk back up at him, her on-the-fly plan coming to fruition as she wriggled her fingers under his pant leg to tap his skin.

"I'm not," Ochako tapped herself with her other hand, leaving them both weightless and moving slowly in the air as the momentum from the expression petered out. "-losing-" Ochako said as she suddenly yanked the boy down with both her hands, immediately putting all her strength into swinging him in front of her. She tried her best to disorient him as she swung his weightless body like a flail around her, spinning them both into dizziness. "-to you this time!"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Bakugo screamed at the top of his lungs, managing to swing one of his flailing arms in front of him, directing it upward towards her with the intent to blast them apart.

"RELEASE!" Ochako shouted as she let her quick fall off of Bakugo just as his blast let loose. The heat and force of this blow hit Ochako's face like a truck, sending her flying upwards. At the same time, she let Bakugo fall out of her hands, pushing all of her spinning momentum outward in an effort to sending him crashing back to earth.

Ochako instinctively clutched at her face, coughing through the smoke and trying to wave it out of her eyes. The burns from the blast stung, her entire face pulsing with pain. She was pretty sure her hair was scorched in a couple of places, too. Bakugo hit a lot harder with those blasts than he used to.

But it was nothing outright debilitating for the moment. As the smoke cleared, Ochako caught a glimpse of her own handiwork, peering through just in time to see the speck that was Bakugo set off a few big explosions to barely keep himself from crashing into the ground. When his feet touched down and he did not start rocketing back up, she breathed a sigh of relief, daring to hope she successfully dissuaded him from pursuing her.

Still under the effects of her own quirk, Ochako gathered her thoughts as she floated weightlessly in the air. She could barely make out the figures of her classmates moving below — she guessed she must have been about 70 feet up by now. Flashes of light, explosions and dust filled the air as the distant crowd continuously roared and hummed in excitement.

But the important thing to Ochako was nobody was trying to get back up to her. She could track Bakugo by the bursts of light moving across the arena. Evidently, he had decided she was not worth the effort to chase, which made her breath a little easier.

She eyed the massive screen hanging within the arena. Thirteen minutes to go. With that goal in mind, Ochako took a few deep breaths and tried not to exert any more energy.

The wind blew roughly around her, stinging as it brushed against the burns on her face. The pain from them grew more and more pronounced as the adrenaline from the early encounter wore off and Ochako focused on keeping calm. She curled herself into a ball, not wanting her limbs left outstretched awkwardly. She tried to maintain a steady pattern of breathing as she focused on keeping her quirk active.

As the seconds stretched longer and longer, the familiar tugs of pain in her stomach started. It did not take long for a full-blown stomachache to start, her quirk a little worn from the rapid acrobatics with Bakugo earlier. Ochako did her best to ignore it, scanning her eyes to confirm again that nobody was coming for her in the air. She tried to watch the fighting below, but it was hard to focus on in the distance with how chaotic it was. There was so much movement to keep track of and periodic dust clouds robbed her sight of the action.

Despite all of that, she managed to make out Deku a couple of times, dashing in and out of the fray, trying to keep himself away from any pursuers with his incredible speed.

She smiled despite her churning stomach and the queasiness starting to overtake her head. She recalled all the times he had endured through so much pain to keep fighting, whether at the Summer Sports Festival or with their lives on the line against villains. He was an unstoppable comet; he might break apart in flight, but he would always keep surging forward nonetheless.

Ochako swallowed the bile in her throat and took another deep breath. This pain was nothing. She could overcome it. She could do this.

The minutes ticked on. Ochako did not glance at the clock or try to count the seconds, fearful that either would throw her off her game. The bile crawled higher and higher up her throat, and she periodically tried to gulp it all down to keep her stomach from hurling out all of its contents. She knew she would fall like a brick if she did.

After what felt like eons, the voice of Present Mic finally blared over the speakers.

"TIME'S UP!"

Ochako released her quirk on instinct, letting herself fall as her hands flew to her mouth to keep herself from puking mid-air (that would be way too much of a mess). Her legs kicked out, flailing a little haphazardly as she felt the air rush around her.

She recovered to curl her fingers inward and activate her quirk again, stopping suddenly and shaking her queasy stomach even more. Groaning, Ochako settled on a series of rapid descents, falling and then stopping herself with her quirk. It was far from elegant, and sweat formed on her brow at the thought of being watched by so many eyes for this. But it was the best she could do when falling from a massive height.

When she finally touched down on the mercifully hard ground, she did not take long before losing the rest of her breakfast out onto the grass. The burns on her face continuously throbbed, demanding attention. Despite the pain, Ochako tried to get up and settle her stomach. Her head started to pound, dulling the roar of the cheering crowd and the blaring voice of Present Mic.

She suddenly felt a firm hand on her shoulder and another one grabbing her right hand to help her stand upright. She was too exhausted to react, but she did not have to turn to know who it was.

"Come on, we should get you over to Recovery Girl." Deku's tone left little room for argument, not that she was inclined to. "I'll see about getting you some tea for your stomach, too."

"Hmm…sounds good…" Ochako murmured, lacking energy for much else.

She saw a few of her friends start to gather around her – Iida, Tsuyu, Mina, and Momo. Her friends, including Deku, were all pretty nicked and bruised themselves, but they looked better than she probably did. They started fretting about her far too much for her liking.

"Are you alright, Ochako?"

"You must make sure not to strain yourself too hard!"

"You look really out of it."

"I hope you'll be okay…"

Ochako regarded them all with the best smile she could muster — which admittedly was not much of one — and gave them a shaky thumbs up.

"I'll be…I'll be alright. I just need a little bit to settle my stomach."

With that, she let Deku support her with an arm around her shoulders. As they walked forward, she groaned as she leaned a little into his embrace. Just for this moment, she closed her eyes and let herself relish in his presence. He was steady as a rock as he guided them. Her insides suddenly felt a lot warmer, but in a good way.

But she did not let the embrace last for long. After a few moments walking together, she sighed and disentangled herself from him, wanting to walk on her own strength. "I'm alright to walk," Ochako stated, before taking a few shaky steps forward.

She noticed then the headband displayed prominently on his forehead. He had advanced like she knew he would. It was not surprising, but she thought she might jump for joy if she had the energy.

Deku relented as she moved away from him, but stayed by her side, clearly intent on making sure she got to the infirmary safely. She felt her cheeks warm at his thoughtfulness but had no energy to react otherwise.

"That was some really impressive endurance, Uraraka," Deku complimented her as they continued their walk towards the arena exit. "I saw you floating there the whole time. You must have set a personal best with how long you were up there. And that throw you did on Kacchan was incredible!"

"Thanks," Ochako responded weakly, trying and failing to summon some happiness in her voice. "You…you were really good too, Deku. I could hardly keep track of you."

"Yeah…I guess I did alright…" Deku murmured, averting his eyes to the ground. He still could not take a compliment from her very well, even after all this time. "It was chaotic, but I managed by just playing defensive."

Ochako shook her head a little as he sold himself short again, but decided not to comment further. Her head was starting to get a little woozy from the conversation and she was content with some comfortable silence.

She briefly turned her head to see the rest of the competitors, all intensely focused on arena display screen that would soon present the matchups for the first round of the bracket stage of the festival.

Not caring for much more than lying in a bed at the moment, Ochako turned her focus back to putting one foot in front of the other. She could find out who her opponent was later. But just as Deku and her were about to reach the exit, Present Mic's voice halted them in their tracks.

"IZUKU MIDORIYA VS. OCHAKO URARAKA!"

* * *

AN: Thank you to Kingdom Lightz for editing this chapter.

This ended up a little longer than I expected but I hope it was enjoyable. Thank you all for the support for this story so far; you keep me going. Please leave a favourite and a review if you enjoyed it. ^_^


	4. Trials before battle

To Ochako, the world seemed to suddenly pop into a greater focus. The crowd's cheer banged hard against her eardrums as she struggled to process the full weight of Present Mic's announcement. The mere thought of fighting Deku made her breathe faster. Her head started to throb painfully as the noise of the arena disrupted the buzzing inside her mind.

"Well…I guess…" Deku tried to speak from his position next to her to fill the icy silence building between them. Unfortunately, Present Mic's explosive voice cut him off.

"KATSUKI BAKUGO VS. TSUYU ASUI!" Ochako and Deku both flinched, goosebumps running down their skin as Present Mic continued to announce combatants.

"Let's go somewhere quieter. We can talk there," Deku suggested. Ochako nodded enthusiastically in agreement, suddenly desperate to get away from the battlefield. The place that could soon spell the end of all her immediate hopes.

The two walked forward at a brisk pace as they trudged through the hallways around the edge of the arena. Ochako hardly noticed the distance they travelled, her mind filled with a haze of anxiety over what was to come. Ochako clutched at her stomach all the while, trying desperately to stop herself from puking again on the way. Despite the sudden elephant of a topic standing between them, the pair kept quiet as they focused on getting Ochako over to the infirmary. They came to a silent agreement it was better to focus on that then the impending battle between them.

Ochako could not help but gasp when she walked into the familiar white room of the infirmary. It was cluttered and crowded, with beds lined up as far as she could see on either side of the room. There were about twelve in all, almost all of them occupied with students. Some were dozing peacefully, bandaged up snuggly as mummies, various limbs held in slings and casts. But others looked to be in a considerable amount of pain, both physical and emotional, as they groaned in their beds, dotted with bruises and cuts.

"Hey guys," Ojiro said from one of the beds closest to the door on the right. His head and tail were heavily bandaged, but he regarded them with a friendly smile all the same. "Guess you had it pretty rough too?"

"Yeah…" Ochako replied mournfully, frowning at the rather grim sight before her. She did not recall this many combatants getting so injured in previous years. She supposed everyone was competing that much harder for what would be their last Summer Sports Festival. A free-for-all probably did not help keep injuries down, either.

"Another one?" Recovery Girl cocked her eyes up toward them from her position treating Sero near the back of the room, who was dozing with his arm in a sling. "I swear to all that is righteous, I am going to chew that damned rodent out for this one. A free-for-all! You have got to be kidding me!"

She sent a glare at both of them, who turned their eyes away from the elderly school physician. "Not you two again. How many times do I have to tell you to be more careful?"

"It's just me this time," Ochako stepped forward to take responsibility. She kept her eyes glued to the ground, knowing it would be best not to try to challenge the elderly nurse. "I got a bad blow to the face. And I need something to settle my stomach."

With an agility that shocked Ochako, Recovery Girl ambled over to her and leapt up to kiss her cheek. She then pulled a small pill out of one of her pockets and shoved it into Ochako's hands, before pointing forcefully at one of the beds in the back corner of the room.

"I saw the stunt you pulled. Take this and rest there. Next time, try to think of a strategy that _does not_ require you to send your stomach into fits. Plus Ultra should not mean ruin your body. Although I suppose yours was a better option than getting blasted in all the chaos."

With her fifteen-second treatment finished, Recovery Girl resumed her work bandaging up Sero's arms, grumbling all the while. Ochako and Deku stood there in a moment of stunned silence, a little astonished at how fast the old woman could work when need demanded.

Longing for the comfort the bed had to offer, Ochako quickly walked forward and jumped into the soft surface. It felt heavenly after spending so long floating without anything solid beneath her. Her limbs went limp and started to feel like jelly, but the sting around her face dulled as Recovery Girl's quirk took effect.

"Here," Deku said while holding out a plastic water bottle, grabbed from a pile of them located near the infirmary door. Ochako gratefully grabbed onto the refreshment, urgently twisting off the cap and gulping it down. She only stopped to throw the medicinal pill into her mouth before continuing to chug. She paused to take a deep breath of relief as the coolness of the water flowed through her.

Ochako closed her eyes and tried to think, putting off looking at Deku's face for the moment. The misfortune of their matchup was still sinking in, but the full weight of it was starting to bear down on her.

She was going to fight Deku. The strongest person in their class.

The person she revelled in fighting in the gym — but who she knew she could never beat when quirks were involved.

The person who made her heart do somersaults, which had been aggravatingly difficult to control of late and could certainly hamper her in combat.

Her idol. Her hero. He now stood in the way of her dreams.

Ochako groaned as she let herself sink deeper into the soft bed. She wondered how much longer it would take her to achieve her dream of providing for her parents if she lost here in the first round. She'd certainly get less lucrative job offers out of high school. How long would it take to make up the difference in starting salary? Two years? Three? It was just more time her parents would have to spend working, struggling to get by and risking some awful injury.

In her mind's eye, she could see a building crumbling with her hopes. Everything was dashed by the luck of the draw.

"Uraraka?"

Ochako blinked, her eyes opening just before the daydream finished in her mind. There was Deku, still hovering over her, gaze boring into her. His face was creased with worry. She realized he was probably anxious about this too. This was not how either of them would have wanted this to go.

"Guess there was always a chance of this, huh?" Ochako asked as sunnily as she could. It came out shakier than she hoped, exhausted and nervous as she was. "Really bad luck."

"Uraraka…" Deku tried to reply to her, but the words did not come. His tone was feeble, making Ochako feel all the worse, and she quickly resolved to try to make him feel a little bit better about the whole thing. It would be good if one of them could, anyway.

"Hey, don't worry Deku," Ochako smiled at him while giving him a thumbs up. She did not have the energy to raise her right hand particularly high, but she hoped he still appreciated it. "It's going to be fine for you. To be honest, I don't think I have much of a chance. But I'll try to make it a good fight. And I'm sure—"

"You're wrong."

Ochako stopped herself awkwardly, blinking as Deku's face transformed from lined uncertainty to a familiar look of grim determination. His mouth made a hard line, his eyes piercing through her. She saw a familiar spark of fire within his irises.

"I know I'm going to have to give it my all to have a chance against you," Deku stated, his tone steady as a rock, leaving no room for argument. "You shouldn't —"

"Ochako?"

Deku suddenly stood straight as a ramrod, his hair standing a little on end as the familiar voice sounded from behind him. Ochako peered over his shoulder to confirm their mutual suspicion. Her eyes widened at the sight of her parents stepping trepidatiously through the door. Her father led the way, his mother just behind him, both scanning around the infirmary looking for her.

"Daddy! Mommy!" At that moment, all of her anxieties and nerves washed away under the sheer joy that filled her at the sight of her parents.

"Ochako!"

"Honey!"

Her parents called out in unison, rushing over to meet her. Ochako sat up on the bed but was unable to leave it before their arms wrapped around her, hugging her tightly to them.

She could not conceal the tears that started to well up in her eyes as the loving embrace enveloped her, filling her with a warmth that dispelled her depressing thoughts. It had been months since she'd last seen them, and their reunions were always emotional. She relished in the feeling of her parents' arms. The feeling of just being with them again. She was home.

"You were amazing out there," her daddy complimented, ruffling her head a bit as they disentangled from each other. "I can't believe those moves you pulled! How are you holding up after all that?"

"I'm doing alright," Ochako replied with sincere enthusiasm. The medicine and Recovery Girl's quirk were actually taking pretty quick effect in settling her stomach, even if her limbs felt rather weary.

"Oh, hello there, Midoriya, dear," her mother was the first to acknowledge the boy, who remained still as a statue at the display in front of him. It was not the first time Deku had met her parents, but in their few brief encounters, Deku was rather awkward around them.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs Uraraka!" Deku exclaimed with a little too much volume in his voice. Recovery Girl shushed him from Sero's bed and sent a glare his way. Deku covered his mouth and shivered in response, respecting the authority of the nurse. "It's...it's nice to see you!" Deku continued, much quieter this time.

"Likewise," Ochako's father replied, smiling kindly at him. "You put on quite the spectacle there too."

"Thank — thank you, sir!" Deku stuttered under the praise, quivering a little. Ochako regarded him with an eyebrow quirked up. Deku never answered her as to why he got so nervous around her parents, always as formal and polite as possible around them. She had a similar reaction when she first met his mother Inko, but she was not so uptight around the gentle woman during subsequent encounters

"I'll...I'll let you spend some time with your family. I'll...we'll...talk before the next match, okay?" Deku stammered awkwardly. He walked out of the room with overly large steps before she could react, giving her a sorrowful look before waving his hand and waltzing out the door.

"...He's a strange boy. Nice enough, though," her mother muttered, shaking her head at Deku.

"Yeah, he's...he's not usually _that_ awkward," Ochako explained, instinctively trying to defend him.

"Well anyways...how are you _really_ feeling after all of that?" Her father asked, pointedly refocusing the conversation onto her. His smile fell a little bit as he looked at the remnants of the burns on her face.

"I'm fine, daddy, honest." She sighed, a little exasperated by the concern. She loved her father dearly, but his probing at her barriers got exhausting. She could trust him with almost anything, but there were some things she wanted to keep to herself, even from him.

"It's because you're fighting your friend in the next round, right?" He cut to the heart of the matter with a surgeon's precision. Ochako felt a shadow fall over her sunny expression, her joy crumbling as quickly as it had arisen when her parents arrived.

"Yeah. It's...it's going to be a tough fight." She reluctantly admitted what was bothering her, knowing it would do no good to deny it with her father having already caught on. She stared up at the two of them, their faces as forlorn as she felt. So much for a happy family reunion.

"Honey," her mother spoke up, stepping forward a little bit and forcing her mouth into a smile. "No matter what happens, we'll always be proud of you. I'm sure you can do it."

Ochako took a deep breath and closed her eyes at that, trying to control the tearful mist threatening to overtake them.

The sincerity of her mother was heartwarming, but Ochako could not think of the right words to explain reality. That no amount of encouragement was ever going to close the gap between Deku and her.

He was like a shooting star, blazing across the night sky with a brilliance beyond human imagination. She was the hapless stargazer, appreciating him from afar.

She wanted to catch up to him. But she knew, deep down, that would never actually happen. He was bound to be the world's greatest hero. She...well, she would just be a regular pro. Hopefully, one that could make enough money to provide a comfortable life for her family.

At the end of the day, she could live with the gap between them. She had made herself content with that reality. But right now….

"I don't think I can. Win, I mean," Ochako admitted to them. Her voice quivered as she uttered that, something deep inside her hating herself for making the statement. "But I'll do the best I can. I want to show you...I want to show _everyone_ what I can do."

She didn't look up before she felt familiar hands grasp both of hers. The hands were hardened by decades of manual labour, firm, with an incredible strength contained within them. But they were also gentle, lifting her hands up as gently as a cloud, brushing over them with a touch as light as a feather.

Her father's hands reminded her of Deku's. Or perhaps it was Deku's touch that reminded her of her father. She was not sure how she should feel about that.

"Ochako, you've already shown us...shown _everyone_ what you can do. The people you've helped, the lives you've saved...nothing will ever take that away," her father assured her, voice filled to the brim with pride and warmth. She felt a few more tears stream down her cheeks as she opened her eyes to see her father crouched to be face-to-face with her.

"I know you're going to be able to achieve your dreams, no matter what happens today. And remember, there's no rush," he assured her, repeating the familiar mantra. He was always telling her to slow down; that she did not have to be in such a hurry to become a hero. Today was no different.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying desperately to maintain her facade. To be like the strong and inspiring hero she was chasing. An unwavering pillar of strength.

But it was hard to manage that after she felt his warm arms encircle her again. She could not hope to stop the tears that continued to flow in response.

"I don't want to lose here…" she murmured into her father's chest. "I just want to be a good hero. I want to help you sooner."

"You're already an incredible hero, Ochako. And we'll be fine."

"I want to win. For you guys."

"We'll be cheering you on. But you don't need to put the whole world on your shoulders, Ochako. You don't have to prove anything to us. We'll be happy just seeing you following your own dreams."

Ochako felt another hand touching her shoulder. Her mother, silently echoing the loving sentiment of her father.

Ochako sighed, letting her father's heartbeat lull her into some semblance of peace. She felt too drained to keep arguing with him any further.

Her parents were every bit as good as putting on a brave face as she was. But she knew how much they struggled to get by. She knew the risks they took every year to keep their business afloat. She knew she was not willing to let them keep working themselves to death for any longer than necessary.

She was the Uravity, the gravity hero. She _should_ be able to take the world atop her shoulders.

"Thanks, daddy, mommy. I'm...I'm okay now."

She pushed herself out of her father's arms. She summoned the best smile she could for them, wanting to reassure them about her. It was probably sullied by the tear tracks left on her cheeks, but she hoped it was convincing enough.

"Are you sure, honey? You can talk to us about anything." Her mother pierced right through the hastily assembled wall Ochako was trying to erect around herself. Still, she was not willing to let herself fall into despair in front of them again. She shook her head, looking up at her mother and trying harder to make her happiness more convincing.

"Yeah. It's not going to do me much good to keep crying about it. All I can do is go out there and try my best, right?"

With the pop of a firework, Mina Ashido suddenly burst into the room from the hallway, dark eyes scanning rapidly around the infirmary. She locked onto Ochako, eyes widening in alarm at the sight of her parents. With steps far more demure than anything Ochako had ever seen from her, Mina walked past the other infirmary beds, straight towards them. She still wore her usual exuberant smile, but it did not quite reach her eyes.

"Hey there, Mr and Mrs Uraraka! Nice to see you again. Ochako, Midnight wanted me to come and get you. You've got 30 minutes until the next round starts and they want to make sure you and Midoriya are both ready."

Ochako took a deep breath and nodded her head deeply. She regarded her parents again before hugging each of them in turn tightly.

"We'll be cheering you on. Do your best out there!" her mother said. She ghosted her lips over her daughter's forehead. Ochako's skin tingled from the contact.

"We'll find you after the match. Best of luck out there," her daddy added encouragingly, ruffling her hair one last time. "No matter what happens, I know it'll work out in the end."

Ochako nodded in reply, unable to summon any more words. She was pretty sure she'd cry if she tried. Her heartbeat ran fast as she stepped away from her parents with urgency, following Mina out of the room.

Ochako's heart swelled with love for her parents. She stopped her steps just before exiting the door, turning to give them one last, beaming smile and a shaky thumbs up. They both smiled and waved in return, standing together, the picture of happiness.

The gravity hero spun around and cleared the threshold, turning down the hallway. With her parents behind her, Ochako's smile faltered. She hung her head low, looking down at her fragile-looking hands.

She loved her parents. But they did not get it the hero business, not really. There was always a degree of separation between her relationship with her heroic self, and her relationship with her parents. They did not completely understand why she had to push herself so hard. They did not understand why she wanted to win so much — why she needed to do well here. There was no way they could understand how much it hurt her knowing she was almost certainly going to lose.

They knew Ochako. They did not really understand Uravity. They did not know what it meant for a hero to go Plus Ultra.

She walked forward behind Mina towards the waiting area of the arena. She kept her head hanging low, ready to resign herself to her losing fate against Deku.

"That was a pretty impressive performance, Ochako. Even by your standards."

Ochako stopped and blinked rapidly, limbs freezing in place. She looked up to see Mina had turned to face her, hands on her hips. There was a slight smile on her lips, but it looked puny compared to the exuberant grins the pink girl usually gave.

"Wha…?"

"It's not hard to see how much this fight is bothering you," Mina explained, interrupting Ochako before she could get a word out. "So I'm going to give you the advice you need to hear."

Mina's voice went down an octave with those words, taking on a seriousness Ochako had never heard from her. The strangeness of it sent a small chill down Ochako's spine, as she struggled to figure out what kind of game Mina was playing at.

"Go out there, do your best, and try to have fun!"

It was like watching a jack-in-the-box, as Mina jumped a little into the air, face brightening with an open-mouthed grin and her hands pointing haphazardly upward into the air. Ochako blinked, too stunned to respond quickly.

Evidently, the non-response was not what Mina was looking for, as the pink girl shook her head and sighed.

"Look, the reason I tease you so much is because you're serious way too often." Serious Mina had returned, but she at least managed to keep an easygoing grin on her face this time.

"I"m not...always serious…" Ochako mumbled in reply, already on the defensive, clasping her hands and rubbing her thumbs together.

"The act you pull half the time doesn't count," Ashido replied quickly, sending a peering glance straight at Ochako. The gravity hero gulped in reply.

"Even Momo, nerdy as she is, finds chances to get silly when she rants about some book she likes. But you...you're always so focused on hero work that I hardly see you smiling anymore. Really smiling, I mean. That goes for Midoriya too, for that matter. He's rubbing off on you more than I can stand."

Ochako stood there, slack-jawed, struggling to process this side of Mina, who continued to cut through her facade with a swagger that was hard to respond to.

"We all have our own reasons, but we all want to be heroes, Ochako," Ashido explained before she gave Ochako another toothy smile. "But we have to keep our own happiness in mind too."

"What...what do you mean by that?" Ochako asked slowly. Mina's sudden rant froze her feet in place as she tried to process her friend's words.

"You're not going to be able to help people if you're miserable all the time," Mina answered without breaking her vocal stride, her hands as bouncy as her words were. "And the fact is, the happiest I ever see you and Midoriya is when you're together. That's why I think you need to give it a real shot with him."

"I'm...I'm plenty happy," Ochako pouted and crossed her arms in front of her, growing increasingly indignant at Mina's speech. She was absolutely happy. Wasn't she? She wanted to give a stronger rebuttal — prove Mina wrong somehow — but she could not think of any. Her head was foggy and she felt unsure of how to navigate her feelings in the jumble of nerves she was in right now.

"There's happy and then there's _happy_ ," Mina retorted, shaking her head again at Ochako's stubbornness. "Look, I see how bummed out you're getting about this fight, but I don't see why you should be. You spar with Midoriya all the time, right?"

Ochako narrowed her eyes at the girl, not entirely sure what she was getting at.

"And how does fighting with him make you feel?" Mina leaned forward, hands clasped behind her, watching Ochako's face with an intense stare.

At the prompting, Ochako reflected back at all the times she had trained with Deku. The exhilaration, the exhaustion, the joys of victory and the disappointment of defeat. But no matter the outcome, their sparring always ended up with them sharing a laugh together. There was not a single time she could remember where she did not walk away from sparring with a warm feeling in her chest.

"...Pretty good," Ochako admitted, crossing her arms in front of her.

"So, just think of that feeling!" Mina advised as she raised her hands in the air. "You have fun sparring with him, right? Well, think of it as just another sparring session, but on a bigger stage. It does not have to be all serious. Just enjoy the thrill of competition!"

Ochako let the words sink in, stroking her chin lightly in thought. A part of her refused to let go of the harsh reality of the fight ahead. She wanted to win. She knew her early career prospects hinged on it. She had too much pride as a hero to not take the upcoming bout seriously.

But pained as much as it pained her to admit it...maybe Mina had a point. Her head felt muddied by all the warring thoughts and feeling she was dealing with.

Her parents, her career, her pride, her love for Deku, the prospect of fighting Deku, the strategy for the battle, the nerves of performance. She was not sure how to come to grips with it all. She struggled to focus on any one thing rattling around in her mind.

But sparring with Deku...training with Deku...it was almost as natural as breathing at this point. That much, she was more than capable of. If she just focused on that, maybe she could at least put up a decent fight for him. She might even be able to appreciate the thrill of battle, as Mina suggested.

Ochako knew such a feeling would never last. But it might last her long enough to get her through the fight, at least.

"...Thanks, Mina." Ochako looked up and gave her friend a sincere smile. As much as Mina irritated her, she ultimately had the good of her friends at heart. "I'll give it a try."

"You're welcome," Mina replied, giving her a grin and a thumbs up. "I'm rooting for 'ya out there."

"Would Ochako Uraraka please report to the waiting area." The voice of Midnight sounded through the speakers around the arena, reminding them both of how little time remained before the fight.

"Shoot, I better go," Ochako grumbled, breaking off into a brisk jog. Mina nodded and stood off to the side, letting Ochako run right past her.

"Make sure to ask for a kiss after the fight!" Mina called after her, cackling all the while. Ochako nearly tripped, her heart kicking up a notch and heat surging into her cheeks. But she kept going, with far too little time to turn around and give Mina a piece of her mind. Her pink friend had undoubtedly counted on that.

With only a few minutes to spare, Ochako rounded a corner to the waiting area. Her eyes were met with Deku and the back of Bakugo's head, the pair standing close together, talking about something. She gasped but covered her mouth, taking a few steps back to peer around the corner of the hallway.

Why would Bakugo want to talk to Deku right now? Ochako wondered, knowing the two were still far from being friends — and probably never would be. Curiosity got the best of her and she decided to eavesdrop.

"...Don't lose to her." Bakugo ordered in a low, threatening done, hands deep in the pockets of his sports uniform. Ochako could not make out his face from where she was standing, but she could tell he was probably glaring straight as Deku.

"What?" Deku replied, raising his eyebrows, perplexed.

"I wouldn't put it past you to throw the fight or do something stupid and get your ass kicked. She's tough. But you better win, Deku. I didn't go after you last round because I expect to destroy you in the finals."

"I would never throw the fight. I'm giving it my all," Deku assured him, looking forward with the familiar blaze of conviction in his eyes. Ochako looked on, biting her lip at the thought of having those eyes aimed squarely at her in the ring.

"I'm not going to lose, Kacchan."

The words sent a cold chill straight to Ochako's heart. She gripped the edge of the corner tightly as they sunk in. They were not surprising in the slightest; _of course_ Deku would give it his all against her, just like she was planning too. And _of course_ he would be confident. He would probably say the same no matter his opponent, just due to his sheer determination alone. His quirk certainly gave him the power to back up that sentiment, as well.

"You better not, or I'll make you regret it, loser." With the warning — tame by Bakugo's standards — the explosive boy walked past Deku towards an exit to the stands.

Deku breathed out a sigh of relief. He frowned suddenly and started pacing rapidly in front of the waiting room.

The time to fight was approaching fast. She could not let Deku's pronouncement get her down too much. With her own deep breath, Ochako painted an easygoing smile on her face and took the plunge, walking around the corner to greet her best friend – and her probable doom.

"Heya Deku," Ochako greeted cheerily, summoning her usual bubbliness.

"Uraraka!" Deku jumped slightly as she came into view, a slow smile emerging across his own face. "I was worried we wouldn't get to talk before the fight."

"Wouldn't want to miss that," Ochako agreed. Every second with him made it harder and harder to keep her a smile on her face. "What was it you wanted to say earlier?"

"Uraraka...I...you…" Deku stopped and started his speech repeatedly, struggling to get the words out. He took a deep breath and started again. "Uraraka, you shouldn't put yourself down."

"Whaddya mean?" She asked, feigning ignorance. She did not like where this might be going. She did not want to be confronted any more about her jumbled emotions again, especially not by _him_ of all people.

"You said earlier you didn't think you had much of a chance against me." Deku stared intently at her, but Ochako refused to meet his eyes, looking away and off into the corner.

She was tired. She was trying to focus on just getting through the fight ahead. She wanted out of this conversation.

"Did I? Well, I mean—"

"You're strong, Uraraka. You shouldn't doubt yourself. You have every bit as good a chance to win as I do."

Her chest got tight as she felt her heart swelling. She scrunched her face and shook her head. The words were comforting, but she was wary. How did she know Deku was not just trying to make her feel better? There was no way—

"...And to tell you the truth, I'm terrified about it."

She turned her head to look at his face again, jolted by the sudden confession. His eyes were suddenly downcast and his posture slumped.

"What do you mean by that?"

"...I know how hard it is going to be to fight you. I want to be confident but...I know if I'm not performing at my absolute best, I'm going to lose. And I can't afford to lose here."

The desperate edge radiating in his voice sounded sincere. As she looked at him, the indomitable hero she knew he was going to become had faded away. There was only Izuku, the nerdy, kind worrywart who she was proud to call a friend.

He was just as freaked out about this fight as she was, she realized. The thought made the fog hanging in her mind disperse as a clear course of action took too form in front of her.

"And I hate that one of us is going to have to lose," Deku mumbled, eyes glued to the floor. "I don't want to be the person who knocks you out of this. I know how much this means to you. I—"

Ochako wrapped her arms around his body to cut him off. She pressed her head under him, squeezing him tightly. She breathed him in, relishing in the contact, even though he grew very still in her arms. But after a few moments, he loosened up, slowly wrapping his arms around her in turn.

It was a rare form of contact between them. They were usually too shy to initiate anything so bold as a hug. But time had made these moments of physical comfort come up on occasion. Ochako knew it was something they both needed.

Ochako disentangled herself from him, holding him at arm's length. His eyes were shining down on her, his cheeks painted red. She beamed up at him in turn without the slightest bit of effort, a sense of relief making the gesture sincere.

"As long as we can...just think of this fight as another sparring session. Just me, versus you, giving it our all. Win or lose, no hard feelings. Trying our best to improve as heroes. Okay?"

It was the only way she could see through the storm of conflicting emotions raging within her. Her relationship with Deku was an anchor point. He consistently confounded her, but she knew she could always rely on him to keep her down to earth. And she'd always do the same for him.

With only a moment of hesitancy, Deku nodded in agreement. "...Alright then. Just like any other sparring session. Thanks, Uraraka."

"Mina gives good advice sometimes," she muttered in admittance. The two shared a laugh at that, the moment of levity a wonderful break from the overbearing sense of tension.

"You two are absolutely ADORABLE!"

The two jumped to split apart, the exclamation hitting them like a cold bucket of water. They both turned, faces on fire, to see Midnight standing behind them, eyeing them with her hands clasped together and a knowing smile on her face.

"We were just talking!" Ochako stated with a little too much force to be convincing.

"Nothing unusual!" Deku added, turning his eyes towards the ceiling.

"There's no need to be ashamed of young love!" Midnight declared. She laughed haughtily as a tide of red made its way up both of the teenagers' faces as they sputtered denials to her.

"I'm just teasing," Midnight assured them, rolling her eyes. "But time's up. Are you both ready?"

Ochako took a deep breath and briefly considered the question. In many ways, she wasn't. She did not have any kind of plan — or expectation — of beating Deku. The consequences of what it would mean to lose here still lurked as a shadow in her mind. And her feelings for the boy were still a mess.

But as she turned to look into Deku's eyes — which he did in turn — she found the certainty she needed. The two of them had been through life-or-death situations together more than they could count. Ochako knew if she was by his side, she could take on this challenge too, strange as that idea sounded.

Ochako twisted her head and nodded to Midnight, seeing Deku do the same in unison out of the corner in her eye. Midnight gave them a toothy grin but did not comment otherwise, gesturing for them to follow her.

The seconds went by far too quickly for Ochako's liking as they stepped through the twisting halls of the arena's superstructure. In what felt like no time at all, Ochako parted ways with Deku to head to the opposite end of the arena. He gave her one last smile and wave before disappearing behind a corner — the last look she'd get before she faced him in the ring.

Before long, Ochako found herself face-to-face with the entranceway to the battlefield, enshrouded in glorious sunlight. She stretched as she awaited the cue, breathing deeply to get a proper rhythm going. Her stomach was completely settled now, which made her breathe a little easier. She was going to need that if she was going to make this a good fight.

"Good luck out there. I'm hoping you can pull this off," Midnight said, winking, before leaving Ochako to her own devices. Ochako only nodded, words hard to come by in these last moments before her fight.

This was it. No more time. No more fretting. Just her, Deku, and an uncomfortable amount of people watching them. Sparring, trying to one-up each other, doing their best. For the future they were both pursuing.

She might not have a chance. But she was not going down without a fight.

In the distance, she could see massive torches on her side of the arena ignite and shoot up into the sky. Her cue.

Ochako walked forward into the light and the roar of the crowd, ready to seize her destiny.

* * *

AN: Sorry this took so long! I should be able to get back to a weekly update schedule to finish off this fic.

Thanks to Kingdom Lightzz on for editing.

Hope you all enjoyed it! ^_^ I'm excited to bring you the climax next week. Please leave a favourite and review if you liked it!


	5. Reach for the Stars

"The hero who can always float your boat, the gravity girl herself, OCHAKO URARAKA!"

The roar of the crowd filled the arena in response to Present Mic's pronouncement as Ochako walked forward towards the concrete pad at the centre of the arena. She tried to show nothing but a grim determination on her face (despite her rather silly introduction) as she stepped with purpose into the bright light of the sun.

Ochako tried to keep her mind clear by narrowing her focus. She kept her thoughts preoccupied with putting one foot in front of the other until she reached her destination.

But the nervous excitement started to build within her, too. This was it. This was the crowd, cheering her on. This fight that could define her career. The entire pro hero world was watching. So too were her parents, somewhere out there.

 _Just a sparring match_ , she told herself, reminding her of the mantra to keep herself steady. _Have fun with it_.

"And her opponent, one of U.A.'s top students, the hero known as an 'absolute madman,' IZUKU MIDORIYA!"

Ochako could swear the roar of the crowd was just a little louder than when she was announced. Which figured, given the amount of notoriety Deku already had. Much more than she had gotten, anyways. She could not help but wonder how she would be acting if she were in the stands right now. She'd probably be cheering her lungs out in delight at Deku's name had the luck of the draw gone a little differently.

Now, she tried to keep her breathing slow and steady as she climbed up the steps to the battleground, looking as Deku walked on the grassy turf towards her. Much like she had, he did not show much emotion on his face. Just a steady gaze, looking straight towards her.

In hardly any time at all he was there, standing in front of her, adorned in their sporting uniform, mirroring her own expression of stoic, heroic discipline. But there was something sparkling in his eyes as his gaze met hers. Remembering their previous conversation, she cracked a small smile at him. He answered it in-kind.

"Good luck Deku," Ochako blurted out. She wanted to take advantage of her last opportunity to talk to him. "I'm coming at you with everything I got."

"Same here," he replied without missing a beat. "Good luck to you, too."

Just a sparring match. The rest of the world hardly mattered now that they were in the ring. She might not have much of a chance to win against him, but she refused to go down without a good fight.

"The rules are simple," Present Mic announced as he rattled off the usual win conditions, more for the audience's benefit than the contestants. Knock your opponent out of the ring, incapacitate them, or get them to submit. Same as always.

Ochako glanced to her side to see Midnight and Cementoss watching from outside the edge of the combat zone, waiting to intervene if needed. She hoped that would not prove necessary.

As Present Mic's explanation winded down, Ochako got herself into a ready position. She gulped, noticing Deku do the same thing. She tensed up, knowing he was not going to hold anything back against her. She would have to be ready from the outset.

Chasing his shadow always took everything she had and this time would be no different. He was a shooting star, after all. Streaking through the sky, always out of reach. Impossible to get within her grasp.

But she could try. She would push herself to her limits to narrow the gap between them. It would have to be good enough.

"LET THE FIRST MATCH BEGIN!"

She knew what was coming before it happened.

Deku drew his fist back in a single, fluid movement. In a split second, he smashed forward, unleashing a powerful torrent of air directly at her. If she did not move, she would have been blown out of the ring in an instant.

But Ochako predicted his likely opening and dived the second Present Mic declared the match open. She fell close to the ground, letting the whoosh of wind fly overhead, before tapping herself with her quirk and pushing off with all the strength her legs could muster. She rocketed forward straight towards Deku, intent on getting in close to him.

She could hear Present Mic screeching over the microphone, but his commentary faded into the background. The rumble of the audience, too, got easier to ignore. It was just her and Deku. She could not afford to divert her focus in any way.

His eyes widened as she shot towards him like a bullet, ready to attack once she got in close. She knew her ability to get within striking distance would define the battle.

But Deku would never make it that easy.

Her hero coiled himself like a spring and shot himself high into the sky to avoid her attack, lifting completely out of her field of view.

Ochako was forced to release her quirk and fall hard to the ground. But she rolled with the movement, determined to keep moving. In a fluid motion, she got into a crouching position and reactivated her quirk, before immediately lifting off again with all her strength to pursue him. She was desperate not to give him any time to think. She needed to keep him on his toes if she was going to get him to slip and give her an opening.

"SMASH!"

But a blast of wind from his fingertips completely nullified her attempt to lift off the ground. She was blown straight into the concrete, knocking the side of her head painfully on the stone ground below her. She gasped, the blow throbbing painfully, demanding attention. But she did not have the time, and she would not give up on this fight yet.

Knowing what was coming next, Ochako went for a backwards somersault — a maneuver made a lot easier as she triggered her quirk on herself again — as Deku sent another burst of wind where she had just been standing. Evidently, he did not want to give her much time to pause and consider the battlefield either, with how many air attacks he was sending out in quick succession.

Ochako landed on her feet after dodging the attack. She lifted her gaze up to see Deku hanging in the air, but falling rapidly, his arm still pointed squarely at her. She internally chided herself for letting him get a hit off on her and made it a point to look at where she was leaping before kicking off from the ground once more.

He quickly let out another blast of wind, but Ochako knew it would not be easy to aim when they were both mid-air. She was not going to go down so easily a second time.

As the air burst came closer, Ochako quickly deactivated her quirk and threw her weight to the side, enabling her to barely dodge it. She felt the rush of wind sweep her hair on the right side of her face, but otherwise pass her by without harm.

Ochako immediately tapped her fingers on her palm to re-activate her quirk on herself. The fancy maneuver killed her upward momentum, but she no longer needed it. She had positioned herself directly below Deku, who was quickly falling into her arm's reach.

As his body came closer to hers, she chanced a glimpse into his face. There was a desperation in his eyes, his mouth curled downward as his opening plan went awry. But when his eyes met hers, he managed to put on a small smirk. She sent a cocksure grin his way in reply.

Just another sparring session.

Ochako winded her fist, getting ready to strike. _This is it. This is my chance. Right here!_

Deku twisted his body around mid-air before getting within her reach, aiming a kick towards her as he fell. But Ochako managed to dodge out of the way of his thrusting leg, feeling a small shockwave emanate out from the force of the blow.

Just as she came face-to-face with him — his face now a mask of determination again — she reared up her hand and slapped him, activating her quirk, in an attempt to send him flying.

But just as her fingertips made contact with his cheek, an explosion of agony emanated from her stomach. Her lungs ached, the force of Deku's fist more than enough to knock the wind out of them. As their blows connected simultaneously, both were sent flying — but Ochako knew she did not get much power off on her own hit against him.

As she careened towards the ground from the force of Deku's punch, Ochako tried to maintain focus. She had to concentrate to keep down her nausea while making them both weightless, even if she could hardly breathe and the unfriendly ground was rapidly approaching.

With a herculean effort, Ochako barely managed to spin her body around to absorb the impact of the ground on her legs — which promptly crumpled as they met the ground due to the sheer force of the punch.

Ochako could not stop the shout of pain as she felt something give way awkwardly on her left leg. She fell to her knees, biting hard on her lip to keep herself from crying out more. Her right hand instinctively flew to her stomach, where Deku's fist connected, and she winced at the pain flaring outward from there.

Knowing she had to move quickly, Ochako pushed through the injuries with her adrenaline and tried to stand up. But as she put weight on her left leg, her ankle exploded in pain, crumbling beneath her once again. It was sprained or broken; she could not tell, but in either case, it was useless.

Despite, the fact Ochako was now carrying a damaged limb, she managed to pick herself up — made all the easier by the fact she was still weightless. Fortunately, she could use her quirk to work without putting weight on her left foot, even if it made fighting much more difficult.

Ochako panted rapidly, the high-intensity opening of their match catching up with her. Red suddenly crept onto her peripheral vision, and she tentatively touched her forehead, wincing at the wet texture. Blood was dripping down her face from where Deku air-smashed her head into the concrete, and although her head was getting a little fuzzy, she did her best to ignore it. She wiped the sweat and blood from her brow and looked up to see the handiwork from her earlier efforts.

Deku was there, floating aimlessly, looking almost as exhausted as she felt. His arms were dangling loosely in the air, silent breaths coming out of his mouth.

She had done it. It cost her a leg, a head wound, and some blood, but she had managed to get him weightless. Despite the odds, she had activated her quirk on him. She had the advantage.

The thrill of the moment was short lived as Deku made his move, the ball firmly in his court. If no other force acted, he would float far enough away that she would surely be declared the winner. He had to show he was not immobilized — and she already knew he was going to do just that.

"WHAT AN OPENING FLURRY FROM OUR TWO COMPETITORS!" Present Mic's voice penetrated her focus, as the crowd roared to fill the calm in the storm of their fight. Despite herself, Ochako actually managed a grin at it all. The audience had better be appreciating the show.

Briefly, her eyes scanned the crowd...and she saw them. They were small, but they were there. Her father was waving a huge pink flag with writing she could not read, grabbing her attention. Her parents were standing at the edge of the lower bowl, shouting something from the bottom of the stairs.

She knew they probably could not see her expression, but she felt her mouth curling further upwards at the sight of them. It was heartening to know they were there rooting for her. Even though they would never judge her as harshly as the pro heroes scouting in the audience, she knew it was them she wanted to impress the most.

She would do them proud. She would show them. She would make them believe in her — as Uravity, not Uraraka.

"WHAT IS MIDORIYA DOING?!"

Ochako flashed her eyes upward to see Deku twisting himself in the air to face the sky. He drew both of his fists back and then punched both forward, creating a massive burst of air that sent him hurtling towards the ground, straight towards her.

She grit her teeth and started running to the other edge of the arena, intent on staying out of his attack range and making his approach harder. Whatever he was aiming at, she figured he could not control his movements that accurately while weightless.

But with only a few steps, another gust of air slammed her hard into the concrete, sending her into another embarrassing faceplant. Ignoring the throb of her face, Ochako jumped back onto her feet to watch Deku. The boy hero had knocked himself back up into the air with his attack, but looked to be preparing to launch himself back towards the ground again.

So that was what he was playing at, then. Continuously launching himself downward like a jet bomber until he got within striking distance, then blasting himself back up. It had to be brutally exhausting to keep shooting off big air shots like that, but she knew trying to beat Deku in an endurance battle was foolhardy at best. No amount of pain and exhaustion had ever stopped him before.

Ochako eyed him just as he prepared to launch towards her again. She curled her mouth into a grimace, as she struggled with a way to counter his rapid air attacks. With a deep breath, she touched her fingertips together just as he unleashed his air blast, giving him weight again.

It had the intended impact. Deku fell just a bit before propelling himself downward, sending him into a much sharper trajectory towards the ground. Caught unawares, Deku awkwardly contorted in mid-air before focusing his arms straight down, intent to break his fall.

With his focus momentarily off her, Ochako saw her opening. She leapt into the air with her weightlessness and tried to stay out of his field of vision. She aimed herself to soar into the air just above him, hanging in the sky and waiting for her moment.

Just as he launched himself back upward with a smaller burst of air, she deactivated her quirk and let herself plummet down towards him.

 _This time_ …She reared her fist back, concentrating all the strength she could muster in her arm. _This time I got you!_

Her fist met Deku's cheek as he was coming up, blindsided by her surprise attack. The blow knocked him down towards the ground, a crash sounding as he landed hard on the ground. He lay motionless for a while, before slowly moving to get himself back up again.

Ochako threw her own weight downwards, using her quirk to gently float down a short distance from him. She carefully deactivated her quirk with her right leg connected to the ground, still avoiding putting any weight on her ruined left ankle.

Deku stood up, left arm hanging loosely by his side while his right rubbed gingerly at his swiftly bruising cheek. He winced as he touched the purpling flesh. Ochako knew it was not much of a wound, but it was still gratifying to see she had marked him.

Bruised, sweating and panting, her idol still managed to smile at her. Standing with a busted ankle, multiple head wounds and her stomach churning painfully, she smiled right back.

She had gotten pretty far in this fight. Probably ruined a few bets, at least. If nothing else, she could take some solace in that.

"Still...still don't think you stand a chance?" Deku asked as he brought his fists in front of him and got himself into a more ready fighting stance.

"I've had...I've had fights against you that have gone better," she joked, although her delivery was ruined by her exhaustion. He still laughed at it anyway.

"You...you're something else," Deku said, shaking his head. "You have no idea how hard you've been making this."

"Like that's ever stopped you," she chided. He let out a snort, but she was not really kidding. Deku had the power and the drive to break through any obstacle. She did not think what she was posing really amounted to much.

"This might be the hardest fight I've ever faced." A shadow fell over his face as he said it, his eyes hidden by his hair. Ochako raised an eyebrow at the comment, not sure what to make of it. But she did not have long to think about it as he suddenly rushed towards her with blazing speed.

She found herself ducking and blocking through a flurry of kicks and punches. His quirk-enhanced onslaught was difficult to fend off. Every blow that connected with one of her blocking limbs felt like she was stopping a power drill, requiring her to duck out of a lot of attacks or get too worn down to fight back.

She jumped backwards, taking advantage of her weightlessness to get some distance. But Deku did not give her much room to operate, charging right back at her again, his right leg extending as he aimed to kick her hard in the side.

Ochako was ready for the attack, countering by charging forward herself, landing a solid blow to his gut. She released her thumb from her fist at the last possible moment, just as the force of the punch connected, to ensure her quirk activated at the exact moment of impact.

The crowd roared in amazement as the two combatants were sent flying from their respective blows. Deku was tossed backwards, Ochako's punch pushing his now weightless body hard. In her peripheral vision, she could see it was not enough to knock him out of the ring, as he punched hard into the ground to anchor himself, stopping his momentum and breaking a good chunk of the arena.

Ochako did not stop as easily. Her left side seared in pain as his kick sent her spinning away, rolling hard into the concrete ground of the ring. Once again, she found herself face first in the stone. Groaning, Ochako tried to sit up — and went into a coughing fit as she did.

Her vision went blurry for a moment before the ground came into focus again. The crimson of her blood stained the ground, standing prominently amongst ashen grey. It was leaking even more profusely from her head, the repeated faceplants taking a toll on her.

She tried again to get herself up — and her stomach roared in pain, keeping her chained to the ground. She watched as Deku rose with ease, standing tall and strong, the wind blowing through his hair.

This was it. The breaking point. Where 'Plus Ultra' was not enough.

Deku could still hang in there, while she was barely able to move. She had given it her all — even allowed to get in close multiple times — and could not knock him out of the battlefield. With her stomach in agonizing pain, she reluctantly brought her fingers together to deactivate her quirk, giving him the weight which would make it easier for him to finish her off.

No matter how hard she tried, she was not good enough to face him. His quirk was just stronger. He was just stronger. He was the better fighter and the better hero.

Ochako knew this was going to happen. She always knew the fight would end like this.

So why were her eyes watering? Why did it hurt so much?

Ochako closed her eyes and felt her mind go blank.

* * *

 _The lights in the sky were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen._

 _The four-year-old Ochako's eyes widened in amazement as the stars dashed across the nightscape. Every single one moved too fast to track, disappearing in the blink of an eye, but were gorgeous in the fleeting moments they bared themselves to the Earth. Her eyes started to water as she avoided blinking, lest she miss even a single one of the strange lights._

 _"Quite a sight, eh Ochako?" Her father asked from his spot sitting next to her, in a meadow not far from their home. The place was lively, with many other families in the area gathering to watch the meteor shower playing out in the night sky. Gasps of amazement filled the air at the entrancing sight._

 _"Yeah…" Ochako replied slowly, keeping her eyes glued to the sky. She might have looked over to her father, but she did not want to miss even a second of the celestial show. She heard her father laugh next to her but she ignored it. She curled up, resting her head on her knees as her eyes stayed transfixed in the skies._

 _A particularly large star flew across the sky, glowing with a brilliance that made the crowd "ooh" and "aah." Ochako herself gasped in delight, standing up in reaction as the light dashed overhead._

 _"Woh there, Ochako," her mother said, grabbing onto her hand. Ochako turned her head towards her mother, sitting just a little behind her, before realizing her own feet were no longer on the ground. Ochako gasped, bringing her fingertips together in a panic. Her feet landed on the ground but she slipped, landing hard on her rear._

 _"Ochako! Are you okay?" Her father said, leaning over to her, stroking her hand gently. Ochako let out an "mhm," reaching behind herself to scratch her sore backside. It hurt a little, but she was old enough not to start blubbering about such a thing. Her mommy and daddy came home with much worse hurts all the time, after all._

 _"You should watch that quirk of yours," her father said, chuckling as soon as he realized she was fine. "You might go floating off into the stars if you're not careful."_

 _"Do you really think so?!" Ochako asked with some excitement, beaming up at her father at the idea. She had only learned about her quirk a week ago and was still giddy about it. Nobody knew what she might be able to do with it and she had been experimenting with it all week. She knew she wanted to use it to be a hero and do all kinds of spectacular things — she just was not sure how yet._

 _Her father gave a full belly laugh at her question. "Squirt, I'm sure you can reach wherever you want with your quirk. As they say, the sky's the limit!" He declared it boldly, pointing a finger towards the sky. Ochako took it in seriousness, watching transfixed with an open-mouthed smile, not really understanding her father's humour._

 _"Just be careful, okay?" her father requested while ruffling her head a bit._

 _"'Kay," she replied, before turning her attention back up to the meteor shower._

 _She smiled up at the beautiful sky, reaching her right hand out in front of her. She let the dazzling lights run through her grasp. Tonight, she had no hope of reaching them. But who was to say how far she might be able to float with her quirk?_

 _Ochako clenched her hand into a fist just as another shooting star ran through it. She brought her fist down to her chest, dreaming of a day where she might be able to capture a star for real._

 _Her young mind resolved, right then and there. Someday, she would find out what it was like to hold a real star, floating up herself to pluck it out of the sky._

 _As she looked up at the stars, she dreamed of the day she might be able to be counted among them. Gravity no longer had a hold on her, after all. She realized not even the sky could limit her._

 _That night was one of the happiest events Ochako could remember in her short life. She went to bed that night dreaming of floating in the night sky, stars whizzing by her. She'd make it there, someday._

* * *

 _"It'll be fine, dear. If I take on some part-time work on the weekend, I think we can make it." Her father's voice was almost confident enough to be convincing._

 _"You're already working yourself to the bone!" Her mother protested, an untold amount of hurt and weariness in her voice_

 _"What choice do we have?"_

 _Ochako peeked over the corner, tears welling in her eyes as her parents bickered over the kitchen table, which was overflowing with papers she could not comprehend. They tried to keep these discussions from her, but she had been able to catch bits and pieces here and there. Business was not going well. They were struggling. Their meals were getting more and more modest over time, too._

 _She was tempted to walk in and confront them, but they always brushed her aside every time she tried. She knew they were putting on a brave face in front of her. She knew what a toll that took on them._

 _Ultimately, she was too afraid to walk forward this time. She tiptoed back to her room and sank back into the bed, which offered little comfort. She cried herself to sleep in her pillow, her heart anguished at her inability to help her parents._

 _More than anything, she wanted to be their hero. She wanted to take away all their worries and troubles. She wanted to give them a life where they would never have to be so sad again._

* * *

 _She was sitting in a career class in middle school. The teacher had given them a booklet with all kinds of career choices — and the estimated salary ranges for the profession. Her eyes went wide as saucers as she saw the number of zeroes beside "professional hero."_

 _It just reaffirmed her resolve to get into the profession. If her parents would not let her get involved in the family business, she'd just have to get a career that could allow her to provide for them._

* * *

 _She could see herself, a teenager, running around an outdoor track during a gym class. She always went full tilt during any physical activity, intent on trying to improve her physical prowess to get into U.A._

 _"Where's the fire, Uraraka?" one of her middle school friends teased as she lapped her. It was not unusual; many of her classmates poked fun at her zeal, noting how unlikely it was for her to get into U.A._

 _She ignored the comment and kept running._

 _Her parents believed in her, at least. But they never seemed to take her promise — to bring them a happy life with the money being a hero provided — very seriously._

 _But she never let anything get her down. Her parents had taught her to stay positive and to always try to wear a smile, no matter how hard it got._

 _Becoming a hero was tremendously difficult. The odds of being one — let alone a rich, successful one — were not in her favour._

 _That did not matter. Because she refused to let anything stop her from achieving her dream._

* * *

 _The stars were falling from the sky yet again._

 _The magnificence of the star shower had been subdued by time for Ochako. It was natural, with how often her family had gone to watch them over the years. But the lights still always managed to leave her at least a little awestruck, a sense of the sublime filling her core._

 _She held her hand up to the sky, looking at the stars through the gaps between her fingertips. She clenched the worn skin into a fist, letting the hand fall into her lap. She chuckled as she recalled her younger self so long ago, and the childish desire to be with the stars themselves._

 _"What's are you laughing about?" her father asked her, sitting beside her, like he always did. As much as things change, some stayed steady. The townspeople still congregated to watch the stars every year. The children still cried in delight as they caught their first or second glimpse of the phenomenon. And her parents would be by her side, watching them with her._

 _"I was just remembering how I dreamed of going to grab them when we first did this." Ochako shook her head and let out a giggle at herself again, expecting her father to join her._

 _"Why is that funny?" her father pressed. He was smiling, but there was an edge to that question. Ochako raised an eyebrow at him, but answered in good humour._

 _"Well, it was just pretty silly, that's all." The childish imaginings of her youth were behind her. She had a new dream, one suited for the real world._

 _"I didn't think it was." Her father's tone suddenly took a serious turn, as he looked up at the stars she once dreamed on. Ochako's own smile fell in response as she watched him, completely perplexed by his response._

 _"I meant it when I said you could reach them some day. And you've proved me right ever since. I've seen you accomplish so many incredible things, and I know you'll keep doing that. You can do anything you set your mind to."_

 _"Daddy…" Ochako felt her eyes start to water, her mouth trembling at the outpouring of emotion from him._

 _"We shouldn't let go of all the dreams of our youth." He said the words with a longing that mystified Ochako. They were weighed with a history she did not know._

 _"They're part of who we are today, aren't they?"_

 _She did not have an answer._

* * *

 _That's right_ … Ochako thought to herself as she regained her consciousness and slowly opened her eyes. _I gave up on anything beyond providing for my family long ago._

The first thing Ochako saw when she peaked through bleary eyes were the distant image of her parents.

They were there, hanging over the edge of the seating area, desperately waving and...shouting? She could not hear what they are saying, at any rate. But as Ochako started processing the pain spiking hotly in too many places across her body, she got a good sense of what her parents were probably screaming about.

She did not know why all those images of their past had flooded through her mind. It was unsettling, but she did not have the time to process it. She was vulnerable and still in the midst of a fight.

And she _had_ to keep fighting. For her career. For them. For herself.

Ochako felt a slight tug on her left shoulder. She looked up to see Midnight, looking down at her. The teacher had a deep frown, and Ochako could see Midnight start to move her left arm in the air.

"NO!" Ochako shouted with more force than she thought she could muster. She grabbed onto Midnight's other hand, squeezing hard. She still had strength. She was not done yet.

"Your ankle is broken and you've taken a lot of blows to the head. We should-"

"No!" Ochako pleaded desperately, tears welling up at the corner of her eyes. "I...I can still fight!"

But the words were dying on her lips. The pain — on her ankle, on her head, on the various scrapes and bruises dotting her body — was difficult to bear. She had a massive headache and every word she spoke worsened it. It was getting hard to concentrate.

"Please," Ochako tried again as she saw Midnight's face was not budging. "This...I can't stop now. You have to let me try."

The frown on Midnight's face worsened. She sighed, before standing back up. "If you can get up, I'll allow it to continue. And I'm _not_ counting floating."

Midnight took a few steps back, crossed her arms, and waited.

It was a tough bargain, but Ochako still found herself breathing a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

With that, Ochako set her mind to trying to stand herself up. She brought both her sore arms forward to the front of her body and tried to push herself into an upright position. Her aching muscles screamed in protest, but she grit her teeth and kept going.

She was going to stand up. She could pull it off. She could muster another attack. She was not out of it yet.

Sheer agony ripped through her broken left ankle as she accidentally put weight on it. She gasped, exhaustion robbing any volume she could emit from her lungs, and collapsed back down. The tears in her eyes fell unbidden, the pain too great to maintain any amount of calm.

She gazed into the grey concrete of the arena — which she had become far too acquainted with over the course of the fight. She clawed into it, before clenching her hand into a fist and slamming it into the ground, not caring about how the pointless attack wore further on her flesh.

Her aching limbs and throbbing head started to win her over. Maybe Midnight was right. She probably should stop fighting, wounded as she was. She was not as strong as Deku, who battled through injuries like it was nothing. Even if she could stand up, what hope did she have against him? She knew this was going to end with a loss all along.

Deku had long ago taught her a simple truth. All people were not created equal.

She lifted her head up towards her parents. Her mother was leaning on her father, as if he was holding her up, the two still shouting unintelligibly. The flag they waved before was abandoned on the steps, crumbled up and lifeless. Dimly, she could hear faint booing from the rest of the crowd. Once again, they expressed their displeasure at the destruction of a weak girl like her.

Almost subconsciously, Ochako tried to lift herself up by her arms again. They struggled to carry the weight, shaking under the pressure. She grit her teeth and pushed harder until her torso was suspended upright. It was progress, but not nearly enough.

As she inclined her head upwards, she chanced a glance at her opponent.

Deku was still standing there, mighty and tall, more than capable of fighting. But ugly tears were streaming down his face, staining it. He had his hand outstretched towards her, awkwardly hanging in the air. He was biting his lip hard as if thinking about something. But as was so often the case, his thoughts were an enigma to her.

Ochako watched him close his eyes and take a breath. He inclined his head, about to speak. She braced herself to hear from him what Midnight, what her parents, what the rest of the crowd already knew. What she knew herself, deep down. That this fight was over. That she should give up and look after herself. Deku cared too much about protecting people to say anything otherwise.

Her arms trembling again, she closed her eyes and waited for those inevitable words from her hero.

"GET UP, URARAKA!"

Her eyes flashed open. She rushed her head upward to look at him again. He was beaming, pumping his fist in the air and staring down at her. There was a desperate, furious edge to the voice she had rarely heard from him.

"If you think you can fight, then get up! You can still do this!" He roared, voice filled with energy, his eyes almost manic as he regarded her. But his inner fire, which so often inspired her, was there in his gaze too.

"I believe in you!" His face fell just a little bit then before he surprised her again with an ear-splitting grin. "Uravity is the name of a hero who never gives up!"

After spending so long wallowing in a cesspool of misery, Ochako thought her heart might burst from the sudden explosion of joy she felt.

Goodness, she loved him so much.

She struggled to think of a way to vocalize how she felt. Unable to find the words, she settled on giving him a quivering smile, one that she knew was undoubtedly sullied by blood and bruises. But in spite of that, his face still lit up, shining like the sun.

Deku had given her the words she needed to hear more than anything. The words of someone who believed in her as a great hero. An idea she sometimes herself had struggles believing in.

With a burst of energy, Ochako pushed herself up again, leaning hard on her right leg. It nearly buckled under the weight of her body. Her stomach also churned as she started to stand, bubbling with quirk-induced agitation.

But despite her body's screams of protest, Ochako stood up. She was leaning hard on her right leg, her arms hung loosely on her sides and her head pulsed with pain. But she was still standing. She could fight.

To go on in spite of incredible odds. To keep fighting, even when your opponent had the upper hand. To work for what you believed in and chase your dreams, however far away they might be.

That was the kind of hero Deku was. She had done all of that, walking in his shadow. And if she wanted to be a hero like him, she needed to keep doing it.

No matter how hard it might be, she needed to keep reaching for the stars. Ochako chuckled to herself at the thought of it.

"The match can continue!" Midnight declared, to a surprisingly loud cheer from the crowd. Ochako did not even bother looking over to the teacher. Her eyes were focused squarely on her opponent. He grinned challengingly, like he had so many times before, and got himself into a familiar ready position.

Ochako grinned right back. She dug in hard with her right foot, curled her fingers in and activated her quirk, letting her move a little easier. She brought her fists in front of her, readying herself for what she knew would be her last strike.

"You know something, Deku?"

"What is it?"

"You made me realize something. I should thank you for that."

His challenging grin fell a little, his eyes growing softer, starting at her with fondness. "What is it?"

"When I met you, I thought...I thought more than almost anything, I wanted to be with you by your side."

Her eyes got a little bleary as her head kept throbbing, but she could still see him loosen up. His face went crimson, his mouth agape at her words. She chuckled at it, not bothered in the slightest.

"What….WHAT?!"

Undeterred, she continued.

"And then I thought...maybe that wasn't true. The real truth was that I wanted to _be_ you Deku. You were...you _are_ the most incredible person I've ever met. The type of hero I saw in you...one who wanted to help everyone, so much. That's not the type of hero I set out to be. But now it's the type of hero I want to become too."

"Uraraka…?" Deku was shaking a little, the heroic zeal he had earlier dissipating under her heartfelt confessions.

"But...but I guess that's not right, either. Because if I want to be a hero like you, Deku...I know wanting to be like you is not enough."

She coiled her body as much as she could, getting ready to lift off. She saw Deku instinctively wind his fist, probably preparing to knock her with a blast of air. Despite rooting for her, she knew that did not mean he would let up when the fight recommenced.

That was just fine with her.

"What...what are you talking about, Uraraka?" Despite his tensed body, his voice soft. His eyes were narrowed, looking at her intensely, as if he were studying one of his hero-related books.

"If I'm going to be a hero, it doesn't matter." It was the simplest way she could think of to sum it up.

"...What do you-"

"It doesn't matter that you're going to be the greatest hero ever someday. Or that you have the strongest quirk I've ever seen."

She brought herself closer to the ground, getting ready to push off. She glared at him as fiercely as she could manage through the blood dripping down her face. His own glance was more confused than anything, but he kept his fist at the ready.

"It doesn't matter that you're the best friend I've ever had!" She charged, hurtling through the air towards him, intent on knocking him on his ass. Deku started to thrust his fist forward into the space in front of him, prepared to thwart her desperate attack.

"It doesn't matter that I love you!"

His eyes widened in alarm just as he sent his air strike at her. She felt the rush of wind blow just above her head, flinging her hair up around her. But it hardly mattered. He had _missed_. She had her opening.

"BECAUSE I AM URAVITY!"

She was on him, attacking with every ounce of strength she could summon in her body, sending a rapid flurry of punches towards him. He grit his teeth as he tried to block every strike, his feet moving backwards as he suddenly found himself off-balance.

"AND I-"

She jumped up in her weightless form and headbutted his chin as hard she could, sending him reeling backwards.

"-WILL-"

She drew her right fist backwards in his second of stumbling, tensing to strike at the opening she had created.

"SURPASS YOU!"

She connected her fist with his left cheek, unleashing a gravity-releasing punch as she tapped him with her thumb, pushing him forward with all her might.

This time, there was nothing to mitigate her blow. Deku's weightless body rapidly sailed through the air, only stopping as it met the metallic wall at the edge of the arena. He bounced off it, hitting the grassy turf and bouncing again to float aimlessly just above the ground.

It was only when Deku titled his head up, eyes practically bulging out of his sockets and his hands shaking, that what had just happened sunk in.

"Izuku Midoriya is out of bounds!" Midnight declared, lifting her right hand in the air towards Ochako's side of the ring. "Ochako Uraraka is the winner!"

She could not believe it. She tried to muster some kind of triumphant pose but found she could not manage more than a warbly little smile as the crowd roared around her.

But their roar started to fade, sounding increasingly distant to her ears. Her legs started trembling and as her quirk deactivated, she stumbled towards the ground.

The world went dark.

* * *

AN: Thank you to Mumblesnake for editing this. Hope you all enjoyed.

Please leave a review and/or a favourite! ^_^


	6. As the Heart Turns

The whispers of Ochako's name pierced through her restful slumber.

It was difficult for her to make out what exactly what was being said. Regardless, the words hovered around her ears, buzzing like insects. It was more than a little annoying when all she wanted to do was rest. There was a weariness etched deep into her muscles, making them difficult to move — not that she would want to right now. Her head was throbbing, periodically spiking in pain, preventing any hope of peace of mind.

The dark numbness enveloping her entire form started to lift as the conversations continued. She wanted to enjoy whatever rest she could manage, but it grew increasingly difficult to ignore the hushed voices around her. With a soft moan, Ochako tried to open her eyes, despite how heavy they were.

It took a mighty effort, but she managed to lift her eyelids, letting in the light of the outside world. Everything was fuzzy at first, but slowly came into clearer focus. She blinked to mitigate the harsh light beaming down on her. Mercifully, the light overhead was quickly blocked out by a pair of shadowy visages.

As the hazy world came back into focus, Ochako was met with the lovely sight of her parents. Their faces were a complicated picture of emotion; there was relief, with a pair of beaming smiles that filled her with a warmth reminding her once more of home. But they both looked weepy, too, their eyes sunken with a weariness she could empathize with.

She only had a moment to process the troubling, yet heartwarming image before the area around her exploded in a cacophony of excitement.

"Ochako!"

"Uraraka!"

"Honey!"

"Would you lot be quiet?!"

The indignant voice of Recovery Girl did little to stem the tide of emotions from the assembled group around Ochako.

She could hardly move her body – every part of it felt like it was weighed down by a pile of bricks. But her parents eagerly made up for that, gently grabbing each of her hands and clutching them while blubbering about how worried about her. She could not feel either of the arms they were touching – she was probably filled with _a lot_ of painkillers – but appreciated the gesture just the same.

"I'm…." Ochako struggled to summon the energy to respond to her parents' concerned ramblings but pushed through her weariness to speak. It was important.

But she caught her tongue before she spoke. She wanted to say, "I'm alright," but realized such a statement was unbelievable, given the situation.

"I'm glad you're here," Ochako murmured in a low voice, trying to squeeze both her parent's hands in comfort. She could barely move her fingertips, but the gesture sent them both into a fresh round of tears.

"You were so amazing, honey!" Her mother beamed at her.

"I thought I was going to pass out!" Her father stated with brutal honesty, sniffling through his tears.

"I have no idea how you were able to do all that!" Her mother continued as she gently stroked Ochako's hand with her thumb.

"You…I…how did you get up after all of that?" Her father's voice was filled with astonishment as he leaned closer, searching Ochako's eyes.

"I…I guess that's…" Ochako struggled to answer, causing both her parents to clam up. They saw the pressure they were putting on her and immediately relented, sitting back in their seats next to her bed and giving her some breathing room. Ochako smiled at her parents' thoughtfulness.

But she still struggled to think of the words to explain what happened in her fight with Deku She struggled to even fully recall what happened herself; she was pretty sure she got a concussion at some point but had fought on anyway.

By all measures, there was no way she should have won. So how was she able to get the upper hand on Deku? Why did he not just knock her out of the ring?

Chancing a glance up at her parents beseeching faces, Ochako summoned a weak smile and came up with the best answer she could manage.

"I just…I guess it's just what every hero has to do sometimes. 'Plus ultra' and all that," Ochako explained. She tried to summon her trademark bubbly tone, but found she could not quite muster the energy.

Her parents glanced at one another, making a silent exchange, their eyes a little fearful. Ochako squinted at the two, herself worried about their evident unease.

"You were pretty incredible out there, Uraraka." Iida's voice penetrated the awkward pause between her and her parents. Ochako's eyes grew wide as she lifted her head up to look past her parents to see Iida, Mina and Tsuyu standing near the foot of her bed.

She realized she was back in the infirmary room, which was a lot less cluttered with throes of injured students. As a result, Her bed was now right next to the door. She could see Recovery Girl off to the left, grumbling to herself next to the still sleeping Sero while scribbling frantically in a large clipboard. Ochako sighed at the setting, wishing she was not returning here so often.

Not wanting to dwell on it, Ochako turned her attention back to her friends and the happier thoughts they could provide.

"Hey guys," Ochako greeted them with what enthusiasm she could manage. "Sorry, I didn't see you there at first.

"No problem at all, rabbit," Tsuyu piped up. Ochako noticed a few bandages across Tsuyu's face and frowned. She knew Tsuyu was fighting Bakugo after her own battle. Had she missed it? And what had happened?

"I lost to Bakugo. He was pretty mad about your fight with Midoriya and I got the receiving end of it," Tsuyu explained, observant to Ochako's eyes wandering to her bandages. Tsuyu did not sound too put off by it, but her face still sunk a bit at the pronouncement.

"Oh shoot, sorry about that Tsu," Ochako said, wishing she could move to give her friend some kind of consoling gesture. But her froggy companion waved a hand at her.

"It's fine. I didn't think I was going to win anyway," Tsuyu said assuredly. "I figure I showed up well enough on stage to land a decent job out of school."

"That's a relief…" Ochako sighed, the pressure she felt her alleviating, if only slightly. "What else happened?"

"Todoroki defeated Kirishima. It was closer than I would have expected," Iida recounted matter-of-factly. "Tokoyami is up against Tetsutetsu next, but we wanted to come and check up on you."

"Aww, thanks guys." Ochako felt a fulfilling warmth in her as she smiled at the people around her. She was truly blessed with wonderful friends.

Which naturally made her beg the question when she noticed a certain someone was not near her bedside.

"Where's Deku?" Ochako asked. Her parents did not react to the question, but her friends all made sidelong glances away from her.

"He was pretty shaken up by your bout as well," Iida explained. "He had to get healed, but he was not nearly as…physically injured as you were. He went off with All Might a while ago.

"He didn't really want to talk about the fight, ribbit," Tsuyu added, resting her cheek on her elongated finger. "Must have really taken a lot out of him."

"I've been dying to ask," Mina piped up, not able to mitigate the excitement from her voice. "What exactly were you talking to him about near the end there?"

Ochako blinked at the question, unable to immediately recall. She struggled to think back to those moments before the bizarre end to the fight, where her headlong rush had somehow worked.

The throbbing of her head in those moments made the memories difficult to recall and she strained her mind to do so. She remembered feeling so happy about his encouragement. Then there was her realization she'd have to push beyond her limits in everything if she was going to defeat him. And then she had decided to let go of all of those doubts inhibiting her. She had talked to Deku about it. Said nothing would get in her way. Not his power. Not even...

" _It doesn't matter that I love you_!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Ochako cried out at the memory. She would have almost certainly been screaming had she the vocal strength for it. As it was, her hands instinctively flew to her flushing cheeks, numbness be damned. She felt herself starting to lift off the bed before her parents frantically reached out to pull her back down.

She had done it. Somehow, unintentionally, in a bloody, adrenaline-fuelled haze, she had confessed to him. She had not even realized it! His wide-eyes and sluggish reactions at the end of their fight made so much more sense now. The confession had stunned him! He was still reeling from it when she assaulted him!

As her parents struggled to pull her back down to Earth, Ochako tried to come to grips with it all. She had won…but in the most underhanded of ways. She had unintentionally weaponized her love for him to gain an advantage. A gnawing pit of guilt settled deep into her stomach and she felt sweat start to form on her brow.

She saw Tsuyu and Iida move closer to her around the bed, looking concerned. But Mina leaned over with a knowing, impish little smile on her face. The pinkish fiend gave her this _look_ that told Ochako she now knew exactly what had happened.

"What's wrong honey?" Her mother asked her with urgency as she desperately pushed Ochako's back down onto the bed. Ochako mumbled wordlessly and released her quirk, letting her sore arms fall back to her side.

"Are you hurting anywhere? Should I go call the nurse over?" Her father grabbed onto Ochako's hand, staring at her fiercely, trying to get a read on his daughter's well being.

"I…I…I…" Ochako stammered and tried to explain her reaction. But how could she? How could she explain that she had made _everything_ go wrong by blurting out something so embarrassing? How could she admit to winning that way?

Ochako gulped before taking a deep breath to steady herself. There was no way she could tell anybody here what had really happened. So she'd have to fall back to her old default.

"Sorry, just had a really awful migraine come over me," Ochako murmured, putting a hand to her forehead and rubbing her temple pointedly. "The pain comes and goes but I'm…I'm okay enough now."

It was as if she was a performer on a theatrical stage and a myriad of spotlights were shining down on her. Every one of her assembled friends and family gave her scrutinizing glances, none of which looked particularly convinced by her plea.

But her father sighed and gave Ochako a merciful escape from further probing.

"Well, you should probably get some more rest then," her father suggested, a tired smile emerging on his face.

"We'll leave you to it," her mother added, standing up in time with her father. Ochako immediately felt a chill as the two moved away from her bedside.

With very little fanfare, her compatriots all filed out of the room in an orderly fashion. Ochako felt a tinge of regret at her avoidance of the question. But as her headache continued to cause pain and muck her thoughts up, she realized it might indeed be best to rest without straining herself trying to explain her victory over Deku.

"See you later, Ochako," Tsuyu said cheerily, waving as she exited the room.

"Make sure you get some good rest before your next match," Iida stated, waving a flat hand her enthusiastically. Ochako nodded at him, smiling at his care as he waltzed out of the room.

"Ciao! Hope you can give me some juicier details about your fight later!" Mina exclaimed gleefully with a wink. Ochako averted her eyes and grumbled to herself about Mina's teasing. The girl did not let up.

But as her parents reached the doorframe to leave her to her own thoughts, Ochako was suddenly overcome with a memory. Her mind flashed briefly to her younger self once again, her tiny hands reach merrily out to the stars.

"Wait!" Ochako called out, managing to lift a hand out towards her parents. The pair turned to regard her, worry still lining their faces. Ochako frowned, wishing desperately she could take away those glum expressions.

"Can we…talk for a bit? Just us?" Ochako beseeched softly, letting her hand gently fall back down onto the bed.

Her parents did not hesitate, quickly returning to her bedside. Out of the corner of her eye, Ochako could see Mina peek her head into the door, but she was quickly yanked back out of the infirmary room.

"What is it, Ochako?" Her father asked, reaching out to grab her right hand again. The familiar soft grip of his skin sent another wave of nostalgia through Ochako, making it even more difficult to gather her thoughts.

With a deep breath, Ochako tried to get the words off of her chest

"I….I just wanted to thank you. For…for everything," Ochako said solemnly. She watched her parents' eyebrows raise in unison, the two exchanging confused glances, but she did not let that give her pause. "For supporting me and always telling me to chase after my own dreams. I…I don't think I would have won that last fight if you hadn't."

She had thought that wanting to bring a stable, happy life for her family was enough for her dream. And no force in this world would ever stop her from working towards that goal.

But there was more desire than that in her heart now. Really, there had been for a while. Trying to chase Deku for all this time meant she had to extend herself to her limits and reach beyond what might be strictly necessary for her to be a wealthy pro. If she was going to keep up with the future number one, she had to be willing to dream a little bigger, too.

Even on a dream as childish as grabbing onto a falling star.

"You don't need to thank us Ochako," her father offered simply, gently stroking her hand. "All we've ever wanted was to see you happy and chasing your own dreams. You're the one that's been working so hard to make that a reality."

Ochako let out a breathy sigh, trying to reign in her more outward emotional impulses. Her father always could get her to weepy.

"No matter what we do, we'll always support you," her father continued. "I'm glad if that helps you in any way. And I'm glad if you're pursuing what makes you happy, too."

"I'm still going to give you a happy life," Ochako interjected forcefully. She needed to make that clear. There was nothing in this world that should shake her from that path. That was a vital part of the happy future she wanted.

"And I know nothing I can do will make you let go of that one," her father replied, chuckling. "But there's a whole world of possibility for you besides that. And whatever it is you reach for, I know you'll be able to do it."

"I…I'm going to have a hard time worrying about you after watching that fight," her mother piped in, expression a little downcast. "But I know nothing I can say now would ever stop you, even if I wanted to try. You're always going to be my little girl but…but you're Uravity now. I know that's who you are, too."

"It's amazing to see how much fast you're growing," her father added. "We couldn't be prouder."

Ochako thought her face might burst from the force of her smile. Her parents got a little more difficult to see through her watery eyes, something she had no hope of preventing.

She pushed through all the numbness to move off the bed and extend her arms wide. Her parents caught onto the idea quickly and wrapped her up in the loving embrace she sought. They had to lean over, and the bed between them made the whole gesture a little more awkward, but it hardly mattered.

"Thank you," Ochako whispered. She wished she could capture the words that could possibly encapsulate the sheer joy she felt at her parents understanding. A part of her had wondered if they might be upset with her about how hard she pushed herself in the ring, but that fear had been swiftly extinguished.

"Okay, you should really get some rest, honey," her mother suggested, gently, guiding Ochako back to lay back down.

"You've got a big fight coming up," her father added. But he threw In a cocky half-grin and a thumbs up. "But if that last fight was any indication, there's no way you can lose!"

Ochako smiled at the comment. It was sweet to see him trying to be more confident in her. If nothing else, if she had inspired some confidence in her parents, she could take some happiness out of her fight with Deku.

"But we'll support you no matter what the result!" her mother chimed in, hands waving a little frantically.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" her father added, scratching the back of his head and letting out another laugh.

Her head was still aching, but the smile never left Ochako's face. Even as her body's exhaustion reminded her of how heavy a toll she had to pay to do the incredible feats she wanted to, the warm feeling in her chest from her parents' pride made it all worth it.

Ochako sighed happily as her consciousness started to fade. There was so much she would have to sort through. There would probably a lot of pain ahead. But for this moment, she left herself be buoyed by the most important people in the world to her.

Her dreams started with a distant whisper.

"No matter what…you'll always be…our hero."

* * *

Ochako felt like she was floating.

It was not like she was unbound by gravity, as usual. Rather, she felt like some sort of spirit, or a wisp of the wind, free to fly around in the sky. It would have surely been liberating, were there not a permeating sense of heat around her, radiating into her skull, making everything seem fuzzier around her.

But despite the disruptive haze hanging around her head, Ochako could still see herself. A different version of herself, more physically solid and with feet on the ground. She winced at her own condition; bloody, bruised, grounded by a broken ankle and gritting her teeth in frustration.

She realized she was watching herself in the throes of trying to stand back up to keep fighting Deku. By all reason, she should have tapped out of the fight at this point. She was running on fumes and even if she could keep fighting, she had no realistic way to win against Deku.

But despite everything, she slowly stood back up, Deku spurring her on. A fiery aura manifested around her embattled self, almost blinding to the eye, as she rose up like a phoenix.

Ochako watched herself charge forward with all her fury. But just as Deku got ready to blow her away, the words came out:

 _"_ _It doesn't matter that I love you"_

 _"_ _It doesn't matter that I love you"_

 _"_ _it doesn't matter that I love you"_

The mantra echoed through the stadium, the faceless crowd shouting it along with her. A bell rung each time the words were uttered and Ochako reached for her ears, trying to block out the constant echo of those humiliating words.

She could not believe she had let that slip out. Like every other obstacle before him, Deku had smashed through the carefully curated walls she had built around the deepest parts of herself. The words had just tumbled off her tongue as she grabbed onto the newfound resolve within herself in order to keep fighting.

It was not the way she wanted to win. As she watched Deku suddenly stumble around like a drunkard at her sudden confession, she knew she would not blame him in the slightest if he hated her for it.

The world started to tilt on its axis and Ochako found herself struggling to stay balanced as everything else spun around her. She tried to keep watching the fight carry on, but it was difficult to manage through the bright light of the flames emanating from her other self.

Ochako watched herself punch Deku hard in the face not two minutes after confessing her love for him. She chuckled darkly at the irony before the world started to tilt even further. Without warning, Ochako suddenly found herself falling into the sky, leaving behind the cheering stadium of blank faces.

As she fell towards the clouds, Ochako turned her body around to face the sky she was falling into. Its colours quickly switched, from a bright, blue sea into a glorious orange horizon of fire.

As the night started to fall, and the bright lights of the stars surrounded Ochako, she let her fear dissipate. A part of her knew she should be terrified, but she pushed aside that feeling.

She was right where she belonged.

* * *

Ochako's head pounded as the dull lights from the infirmary came back into her vision. It was disorienting trying to recall where she was as her dreams slowly receded from her consciousness, fading like the gentle stroke of fingertips. A part of her mind desperately tried to hold onto the fragments of her dreams, which she knew were important. Watching herself fight Deku…professing her love…falling into the stars…what else was there?

She sighed deeply and tried to move her limbs, which were a little more cooperative than before. There was still some soreness, but the unrelenting numbness had faded. She could move her arms with little difficulty now, as opposed to having to struggle to make them budge.

With the newfound freedom, Ochako got herself up, rubbing her eyes as her mind still busied herself with trying to recall her fleeting dreams.

It was weird, but dreams were always like that. Still, watching herself fight Deku…it felt like something she needed to see. Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her something. A push to reconsider her fight, which she knew was going to frustrate her for a while to come.

She found herself instinctively tensing her hands as she recalled the echoing words. " _It doesn't matter that I love you_." The words that would haunt her until she could confront Deku about them.

But there was something strangely magical about seeing her fight on right after confessing. She had let go of all of her inhibitions, hangups, and self-doubt in the last moments of that battle. And although she was horribly guilty about how she had ended it, those doubts had not held her back at all.

She may not have been able to defeat Deku in an honest way – and personally felt like it hardly counted considering – but she _could_ beat Deku. At least, that's what she knew she had to believe. If not today, then the next.

Ochako looked down at her hands, stretching out her fingertips, which held the power to control gravity itself. She could no longer be content in letting that power be spent chasing his shadow. She had to go beyond that. She had to aim beyond even him, wherever that would lead her.

That was what it meant to go 'Plus Ultra.'

But there were the more personal hang-ups she had to think about, too. Ochako closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep herself steady as she pondered the "other" truth of her battle with Deku. One that immediately made her heart's periodic thumping just a little heavier.

She had confessed to Deku…and attacked him right afterwards.

She had laid her love out in the open…and it did not stop her.

She had broken the bars around her heart, letting it burst free from its cage…and she had, technically, won one of the most important fights of her life right afterward.

Her love had not held her back.

She kept her eyes closed and took a deep breath. She wanted to keep her heart as settled as possible, lest it cloud her thoughts.

Her desire to achieve her goals and her own heroic zeal were stronger than her love for Deku. That was not new information. But she had always feared letting that love free could change that. That maybe it had already been changing that without her realizing it.

But in a moment where she let herself her love for him out in the open, she was immediately able to move past it to do what she needed to. When the chips were down, her love was no stumbling block.

Had she been going about it all the wrong way with her feelings for Deku?

"What. The. Hell. Was. That. YOU. LOSER!"

The booming voice drew the eyes of Ochako, and several others in the room, toward the doorway. It was distant, an echo bouncing off of the walls, but impactful nonetheless. There was no mistaking the gravelly voice of Katsuki Bakugo.

Based on his tone, Ochako got a sinking feeling Deku was the current subject of his ire.

Ochako did not hesitate. She lifted her reluctant limbs, pushing herself off of the bed. She moved far enough with her arms to sit on the side of the soft surface, pushing her legs off of the bed. She tested her left ankle, which she realized was wrapped solidly in a splint. No good.

She sighed and curled her fingers, activating her quirk on to make moving around an easier task. With a mighty heave, she pushed herself to a standing position, letting herself balance weightlessly on one foot. She let herself lean on the wall close to her bed, her vision filling with pale white. She took a deep breath and prepared to push off down the hall in search of the confrontation.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?"

Ochako jumped slightly, her arms swinging in front of her instinctively to block an attacker. But she was only met with the sight of Recovery Girl, the stout nurse sending her a deathly glare with her hands on her hips.

Ochako gulped at the piercing gaze of the elderly matron. Truly, she was an intimidating foe.

"Uh…I just wanted to…take a walk?" Ochako uttered awkwardly while sending a shaky smile towards the woman. Recovery Girl's face did not budge.

"You should be healing in bed. In fact, you should be out of this tournament on a precautionary basis, although I already lost that one," Recovery Girl grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her.

Ochako tried to come up with a good response to that, her tongue catching at the edge of her mouth. How could she explain it? Being a hero often meant pushing through injury to keep fighting. But Recovery Girl had almost certainly heard that a million times before.

"Is it that important?" Recovery Girl asked, halting Ochako's train of thought in its tracks.

Ochako blinked at the question but did not need long to consider. She needed to see Deku. And possibly rescue him. "Yes, I think it is."

Recovery Girl let out a deep sigh, her face faltering and her arms dropping to her side. She looked up at Ochako and regarded her with a neutral expression. "Keep your quirk on. Don't take long enough for your nausea to start up again. Do not go far and get back to bed as soon as you can. If you expect to do anything in the next round, you need all the rest you can get."

Ochako nodded enthusiastically as Recovery Girl stepped away, leaving Ochako's path for the doorway open.

"Thank you," Ochako stated softly as Recovery Girl turned her back to the hero. Truly, the nurse was a strange, yet kindly enigma.

Without much time to spare given Recovery Girl's requirement, Ochako moved out of the room as quickly as she could, pushing off with her right foot while guiding herself forward by grabbing onto the nearest wall.

She heard a pair of voices in conversation, Bakugo's voice overpowering the other. As she moved around a bend in the halls towards the voices, her suspicions as to who he was talking to were quickly confirmed.

"I just can't, okay?" Deku's voice was soft and unsure against the overpowering shouts Bakugo was letting out.

"What the hell do you mean, you can't? You lost a fight like that and you can't even say why!"

"It's…I'm sorry, Kacchan."

The two came into view as Ochako turned around the corner into an empty hallway. Deku was slumped hard against the wall, eyes glued to the floor, shoulders slouched and looking like he was doing everything in his ability to avoid eye contact with his rival. Bakugo, on the other hand, was glaring at the green-haired boy intensely, hovering over him, his hands shaking at his sides and clawed as if he was about to unleash his explosive quirk.

"What's going on here?" Ochako asked softly, breaking through the tension between the rivals.

The two flashed their eyes towards her direction as she entered the scene. Deku's eyes widened in alarm before he quickly averted them as his cheeks went red. Bakugo's glare narrowed as he took one step back from his rival and redirected his angry eyes towards her.

Ochako matched the explosive boy's gaze, refusing to back down. She might have her fears about facing Bakugo, but after all that she'd been through, she was not going to let them get the best of her.

She felt an electricity start to spark between them, a familiar tingle of anticipation hitting her as she squared up against her next opponent in the tournament. Neither was willing to back down, their eyes locked in a fiery battle of wills. Ochako felt her eyes twinge painfully as she glared into the red irises of the explosive boy in front of her, but kept her gaze steady. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Deku glancing frantically between them.

Unfortunately, Ochako could not hold her eyes open for too long, blinking to break the staring contest. With that, Bakugo let his hands fall more leisurely at his sides.

"Nothing, Uraraka. This loser won't say anything anyhow," Bakugo grumbled. "He's hardly worth the time."

"He's not a loser," Uraraka declared fiercely, taking a small step forward with her right foot. She did not care to see Deku put down by Bakugo today. Especially since Deku could hardly be faulted for the loss that had clearly drawn Bakugo's rage.

"Shut it. Last I checked, he's not the one moving on to the next round," Bakugo noted, keeping his eyes affixed to his future opponent. "Let me get one thing straight. I'm not going to take it easy on you next round like he did."

The words stung, taking Ochako aback. She tried to maintain her fierce façade, but the gears in her head were whirring. Just how obvious was it to people that Deku had not been fighting at his best?

Still, she could hardly display that uncertainty. So she instead answered him with a sharp nod.

"I won't be holding anything back either," she stated fiercely, keeping herself as steady as she could on one foot.

Bakugo grumbled wordlessly and turned his back to the two of them, feet stomping hard on the tile floor as he walked away. But he paused briefly to turn around, sending one last glare Ochako's way.

"I will crush you."

The threat intensified the air for a moment after Bakugo walked away and the Ochako was left to stew about fighting him in the Summer Sports Festival again. In different circumstances, she would be beset with nerves at the prospect of fighting Bakugo and wracking her mind for some kind of strategy to take down the most ferocious student of U.A.

But as she met Deku's gaze, her love's eyes widened in fear, she knew she had more immediate problems to worry about.

* * *

AN: Thank you to Kingdom Lightz and the IzuOcha Discord writers for editing this.

So this ended up being slightly longer than expected. Good news is, I'm extending this story until Chapter 8 including an epilogue, instead of ending it at Chapter 6.

I am overwhelmingly thankful for all the support this story has received, particularly for the previous chapter. I conjured up Chapter 5′s climax in my head and found it profound enough to want to try to build a complete story around it. I'm glad so many people reacted to the scene and found it worth commenting on.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review and a favourite if you did! ^_^


	7. Into the Abyss

Somehow, confronting Deku to converse in an empty hallway felt more nerve-wracking than confronting him to battle in front of millions of viewers.

The boy in question remained slouched and loose leaning against the wall, keeping his focus down towards the floor. Ochako frowned at the image as she pushed herself backwards and held onto the wall opposite him, anchoring her weightless self. The air was still, the sudden quiet of the hallway somehow suffocating between them.

He looked so… _defeated_. Unsure of himself, like he had often been when she first met him. It was a far cry from the heroically imposing figure he was in the ring a few short hours ago.

She did not like it. Especially because it was her fault he looked that way.

With that thought, Ochako breathed deeply and knew what the first words between them would have to be:

"I'm sorry."

Deku swung his head upward at the sudden apology, his eyes wide in surprise at the words.

But Ochako did not allow his reaction to give her pause. She looked directly into his green eyes, refusing to look away as she answered for her offence. He had to know she was sincere. She refused to show any trace of her rattling nerves and risk them mitigating her apology.

"I did not want to win like that," Ochako stated solemnly. "I wanted to win by fighting you head-on. But what I said was completely out of line. I...I didn't even realize what I was saying."

The words started to tumble rapidly from her lips. Even as Deku's face fell, his mouth moving into a disappointed frown, she plowed through her explanation. She had to get this out, whatever the consequences.

"And then you got distracted and I kept attacking anyways not even…I didn't know," Ochako murmured, her words starting to fail her as the explanation dragged on. "I didn't mean to do it, but it's still my fault. I wanted to fight you properly, not win with something so…so…underhanded."

The gravity hero bowed her head, her eyes meeting the grey metal of the floor. She took another breath as she worked hard to keep her composure in front of him, despite how her heart clenched painfully in her chest.

"I hope you can forgive me."

There was a moment of silence. It stretched ominously, a cold stone of dread sinking deeper into her gut with every second that passed. She felt herself start to drift upward in her weightlessness before reaching back awkwardly to push herself down against the wall.

All the while, she waited for his response, unwilling to glance up at him until she had it. She pushed down the urge to tremble. Her mind took its first steps into a dark, endless spiral of 'what-if' scenarios for how she would react if he responded as badly as he should. He had every right to be angry, after all, and she should be prepared.

"Uraraka…it's alright."

His voice was coldly docile, void of the anger and frustration she expected from him. Rather, there was only melancholy, his voice sombre in his acceptance.

She looked up to see his smile, small but still prominent on his face. It did not quite reach his eyes, but it was better than any reaction she could have hoped for.

"I was the one that lost my focus. That's my fault, not yours. There's nothing…" he paused, the word catching on his tongue. "Nothing wrong with what you did."

Ochako wished she could feel relief at the statement, but the sad look in his eyes and the lack of conviction in his voice prevented that.

"But Deku, that was-"

"It's not an unreasonable tactic," he assured her. But his voice was dispirited, akin to the clinical heroic analysis he was known for. "There's nothing wrong with throwing an opponent off with words, like Aizawa said. I know you did not mean it and it's fine, Uraraka."

"Deku…" Ochako murmured gently. He kept his eyes focused to the side as he spoke. Clearly, something was still really bothering him. She was not truly forgiven — not that she deserved to be.

"You….I…" Ochako stammered, trying to find the words. "What I did was wrong. That's…that's not the kind of hero I want to be. I know I can't fix what I did, Deku."

"Uraraka, really, there's nothing wrong," Deku stated firmly, exasperated. He smiled at her again, but it was apparent he was forcing it. "You didn't mean to say it. It's fine, really!"

His voice cracked, the words coming out in a squeak, rushing as if tears were about to leak from him. She moved a hand forward, instinctively wanting to reach out and comfort him. But she stopped herself, fearing such an action would only make things worse.

"I'll find a way to make it up to you…if you'll let me." The words came through with difficulty as she felt her own throat get a little choked up. She fought back the water edging at her eyes, refusing to start blubbering through this.

"But…I understand if you don't want anything to do with me."

"No! Uraraka, gosh I…I…" Deku stated with more force, his eyes finally meeting hers again, his own hand outstretched towards her. He stopped, his throat bobbing as the two stared at one another. Confusion stood prominently on both their faces. Ochako wished desperately she could take the uncertainty away from him, somehow.

"You what, Deku?" Ochako asked simply. She clenched her hands at her sides, bracing for the worst.

Deku put his hand back to his side. He took a breath and his hand started to shake a bit. She noticed a heavy blush started to stain his cheeks and he darted his eyes away. His voice was quiet as he spoke, forcing Ochako to strain her ears to hear.

"I…I understand if you didn't mean what you said…"

The hidden meaning hidden beneath his shaky uncertainty hit Ochako like a bolt of lightning. Her heart started racing as the pressure of his statement swept over her, freezing her in place as she tried to formulate a response.

Deku was not so worried about losing the fight. He was worried about her feelings.

It had not even occurred to her he could see the confession itself as anything less than genuine. In her mind, dealing the confession itself has become secondary to making up for the act of confessing in the midst of combat.

Ochako bit her lip and clenched her fists. There was no more delaying to be done about it. There was just her, Deku and her love for him hanging between them.

She realized could try to end it here. Run away from those feelings again and deny them, move on and chase the easygoing normalcy of friendship they had before. Deku would probably buy into it, or at the very least, accept it, if he was not too upset with her. It might be difficult to go back to the way things were, but it would at least be a clear picture to go after.

There was no certainty if she continued to act on her feelings for him. She did not even know if he felt the same way. Pursuing her love was a leap into the dark abyss of the unknown, and her skin felt clammy as the terror of the prospect loomed over her.

Ochako took a deep breath to steady herself on the precarious edge she stood on.

She did not want to keep her heart chained up anymore. Whatever might come, she knew now her love did not have to be a stumbling block to doing heroic deeds. If her love did not prevent her from headbutting Deku in the face, what could it possibly stop her from doing?

Trying to keep her feelings sealed away had caused her so much grief and anxiety. It seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

She had to take the plunge.

With all the courage she could muster, Ochako squeezed her eyes shut and nodded with enthusiasm, her hands clenched balled into fists at her sides. She kept her eyelids shut, not daring to look and see his immediate reaction.

"I…I don't understand why…" His words were uneasy, keeping Ochako glued awkwardly to the edge. She slowly opened her eyes to see him, staring at her, suddenly a step closer, his lip quivering in fear.

"But…but I talked about it with…someone and I…I owe you a response!' Deku shouted with sudden force, his voice stuttering, his hands shaky at his sides. The skin on his face was completely engulfed in a tide of red.

Ochako held her breath, daring to hope.

"I..I…I love you, Ochako Uraraka!"

There was no fanfare to his words, spoken a little more loudly than strictly necessary. There was no romantic atmosphere to be found in the empty, grey hallway. The only light shining down on them came dully from the fixtures overhead. This was not the romantic confession movies were made about.

Nevertheless, she could not stop the rise in her cheekbones, forced upward by the surging force of her smile. She felt lighter than air, her fears fading into the background, as if vanquished by a radiant light. The overwhelming sense of joy roaring within her pushed everything else to the side.

Unable to resist, Ochako pushed herself off the wall and glomped him, pushing him back a couple of steps with the weightlessness of her body. He stumbled back awkwardly, back banging against the wall as she buried her face into his shoulder, but he managed to catch and hold onto her securely.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," Ochako whispered into his shoulder. She pushed off a little from his chest to look at his face, chuckling a bit at his shocked, slack-jawed expression.

It seemed like there was light at the bottom of the unknown abyss.

She gave him the most dazzling smile she could muster as she uttered her response with all the happiness inside of her.

"I love you, Deku!"

It felt wonderful to be able to say those words, the weight of her fears gone in a flash. Her heart felt free, no longer struggling to rattle in her self-imposed chains. There was only the vibrant, chaotic swell of happiness, which she chose to relish in. This was a precious moment, one she might never experience again.

She watched his mouth open and close like a fish as he struggled to respond. She laughed again at how overwhelming it all was. In truth, she felt just as lost as he was in the moment – but decided to dive right into the unknown rather than let her love keep causing her to stumble.

"Uraraka…" Deku finally managed to squeak words out after losing his voice to the romantic onslaught. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Deku," she replied brightly, her voice filled with her natural bubbliness. It had been too long since that had been easy to summon.

"Why is it that you…you…love me? I just…I just don't…" Deku murmured, his voice pensive. "I don't understand why you'd feel that way."

She raised her eyebrows at him, searching his face. There was doubt there, no smile on his face to match hers, his face still very flushed. There was the shy boy she had met during her first day at Yuuei.

But Deku had gained a lot more confidence as the years went on. She was not sure why he was reacting this way.

"I just.." Deku continued, seeing the question in her eyes. "I never really considered anyone would feel that way about me. Girls would look away from me in middle school and I just figured…since I'm kind of a…"

"A dork?" Ochako supplied, her voice mirthful, trying to impress it was not something she saw as a negative.

Deku cracked a smile at that, which Ochako was grateful for. "Yeah, that. I had kind of written off the idea of someone falling for me. Maybe after I went pro, and by that point, I'm not even sure how I'd manage the time. It honestly was not something I thought I could plan for."

Ochako sighed at him, keeping her hands pressed against his chest. It always baffled her how he could not see the greatness within himself. Such was the downside of his drive to continuously improve.

"You're the kindest, sweetest guy I've ever met, Deku," she spoke earnestly. It was not the first time she had told him this – and as it always did, it made his face flush even more. "You're an easy guy to get along with. Being with you just makes me happy."

"Uraraka…" Deku whispered softly, voice reverent in response to her honeyed words.

"You always pick me up when I'm down. And the drive you have to be a hero is just incredible. You're one of my biggest inspirations, Deku."

She was getting a little flushed herself at this point as Deku's eyes grew wide as saucers, tears welling up at the edges of them.

"You're the best friend I've ever had," Ochako stated warmly, wrapping her arms around him best as she could and putting her head into his chest. He went rigid at first, his heartbeat racing, but he slowly loosened up and wrapped an arm around to her back. "You've…you're just amazing, Deku. I really tried to contain it, but…I couldn't help but fall in love with you."

It was so liberating to let it all out to him. After so long trying to disguise her feelings from him, her heart felt so much lighter within the confines of her chest.

She watched in good spirits as Deku started to bawl, suddenly squeezing her to him. She let out a squeak, but sunk deeper into his embrace, her skin getting tingly from the hold.

"You're…you're the incredible one," Deku murmured into the top of her head, tears streaming down to tickle her hairs there. "Gosh, Uraraka, I…I…"

He could not summon the words from amidst his blubbering and settled on squeezing her tighter to him. They stayed like that for a little while, just holding one another. Ochako sighed as Deku's heartbeat started to slow down. It soothing when it was peaceful and steady. She could see herself falling asleep to this.

As Deku's tears started to fade into sniffles, he spoke again, whispering just above her ear.

"I wouldn't be where I am today If it wasn't for you, Uraraka." His voice sent pleasant shivers down her spine. Her skin pimpled at his gentle, intimate voice, and she found herself captivated by it. "Your determination, how you wear a smile no matter how bad things are…you make me want to be a hero like you. You're amazing, Uraraka."

"Deku…" she whispered in response, keeping her face buried in his chest to try to hide her flushing face. His unmitigated praise of her never failed to put her at a loss for words. It was a wind beneath her sails, but still made her want to cover herself for embarrassment.

But as their racing hearts started to slow, a nagging issue still buzzed in the back of her mind. However, the warmth of the moment acted as a shot of courage, allowing her to utter the question with greater ease.

"Hey, Deku?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you really not mad about our fight?"

He pushed her off of his chest to hold her at arm's length, looking down into her eyes. The nerves were gone from his gaze, replaced by conviction and accompanied by a reassuring smile.

"I'm not mad about the fight, Uraraka. I get it was an accident, and I was the one that lost my focus. It's okay."

His honeyed words were lovely, but did little to satiate the buzzing in her mind.

"But what about your future! You lost so much because I did something so silly and-"

"Uraraka, it's going to be alright," he cut her off firmly, gently stroking her back in a calming gesture. She looked up at him with wide eyes, wishing she could just lose herself in his embrace instead of worrying about their fight.

"One of us had to lose out. There was no helping it," Deku explained. "I am disappointed in myself for losing like that, but I'm not going to let myself get hung up on it. Like Aizawa said, there are many roads to becoming a hero, and he's right. I'll just work that much harder to convince the pros I'm more than what I showed in the ring."

"Deku…" she whispered, beaming up at him. There was the indomitable fire she had fallen for. Once again, he found a way to surprise her with his determination.

A part of her wished the moment between could have lasted forever. For those precious minutes, the rest of the worries of her world faded into oblivion. She was overwhelmed, but she did not mind it in the slightest. It was heavenly.

But for a hero, duty would always come first.

"Would Ochako Uraraka please report to the waiting area?"

Ochako let out a miserable sigh and disengaged herself from Deku. She reluctantly pushed off of him, the two letting their hands brush against each other's arms as Ochako floated over to the other side of the hall.

"I should probably get going." Ochako did nothing to hide her reluctance but tried to mitigate it with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, you're going to be in tough," Deku nodded a little awkwardly. But he kept his eyes steady and gave her a fiery stare. "But I know you can do it, Uraraka."

The two exchanged determined grins and Ochako pumped a fist in the air, letting out a cry of enthusiasm. "Right!"

Deku chuckled a bit but extended a fist out to her. Ochako eagerly punched into it, initiating their trademark handshake. But their hands lingered together at the end, fingers gently intertwining. She was not sure who started it, but she suddenly found herself reluctant to let go.

She looked up at him for a suggestion, but there was none to be found. His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes betraying his nervousness, the smile running away from his face.

They had confessed to each other…but what could they do now? What did that mean for them? How should they even bid farewell to one another?

Mercifully, Deku managed to take the next courageous step forward, even if he could only manage it with a deep blush on his face.

"Hey…when this over…do you want to…maybe…go out for something?" Deku stammered, his hand suddenly letting go of hers, flying back to scratch at his neck.

"For something? Like…like what?" Ochako felt her own cheeks get a little warmer as she realized what he was getting at. She gulped as she thought about it. The act of sorting out confessions had been a mountain to climb. She had been unable to see what lay beyond it…and now that she could, it sent a whole fresh round of nervousness through her.

"Like…out to eat something. Somewhere…nice?" The way he pushed through the question made her laugh, but there was a nervous edge to her own voice. He tried to laugh with her, but it did not seem genuine. He was just as terrified as she was.

"Are you…are you asking me out on a date, Deku?"

"NO!" Deku exclaimed reflexively at the question, before his brow furrowed as he realized how that sounded. "I mean…yes! Or at least…if you want me to be?" Deku's voice cracked as he tried to explain himself, suddenly unleashing a storm of rambling at her. "I mean I guess that was my intention but I understand if you don't want it to be that way I just thought since you said you loved me and I love you it made sense but I get it if-"

Somehow, his rambling made the burden of her own nerves lighten, as she let out a genuine peal of laughter at his strange habit. He really was bad at this – just as bad as she was, in many respects. But if they were going to be terrible at this whole being-in-love thing, at least they could be terrible together.

"I'd love to, Deku," she managed to say earnestly, even if she was pretty sure her face was going to combust any second.

"Great!" Deku exclaimed, his voice pitching up an octave, the sweat visible on his face. "We'll…we'll work it out after, I guess. But you should get going."

"Yeah, you're right," Ochako nodded enthusiastically, buoyed by the prospect of going out on a _date with_ Deku. It was terrifying, but exhilarating at the same time.

She looked down at her splinted left leg and frowned, knowing she'd have to get some help taking it off in the waiting area. Resolved to head there while still floating, Ochako prepared to push off and head straight for it.

But as she glanced back towards Deku, his wide green eyes and gentle smile making her heart skip a beat, she got an idea.

A wild, crazy, incredible, awful idea.

Her face was burning, but she let her mind hold hard to the impulse that had befallen her. After all, it was what people in love did…right? Somehow, despite how incredibly frightening the idea was, she wanted to try it.

Besides, she had already climbed over the looming mountain of confessing. How bad could it be to take the next step?

Her thumping heart was spurring her forward. If there was one thing she had learned, is that she could trust it a little more. Her idea was probably the next step in her own personal pursuit of happiness. And that was a road she had decided she would keep walking down.

"Hey, Deku. There's…there's something I'd like to try with you. If that's okay?"

"Uh…sure, Uraraka." His uncertain voice told her he had no idea what she was getting at. "What was it you-"

Ochako pushed off from the wall and floated fast towards him. She was in his arms before he knew what was happening. As Deku caught her and tried to recover, she pressed her lips to his.

There was no magic in the moment. No choirs of angels singing or overwhelming bliss from the connection of their lips. It was the awkward fumbling of two teenagers who had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

Deku was still as his statue, his eyes practically bulging out of his sockets in shock at the gesture. Ochako pressed her mouth hard into his, but only managed to get the upper half of his lip given how imprecise her headlong rush into him was. She tried to readjust herself, but the lack of reciprocal energy from him made her abandon the attempt.

As she pulled away from her frozen friend, she touched a hand to her lips, feeling the moisture there. She looked up to see his mouth open wide, slack-jawed. His eyes were out of focus, unaware of the world around him.

"Um…sorry about that Deku if that was…too soon," Ochako scrambled to explain herself at his complete non-reaction. Was it that bad? "I just thought…well…I wanted to try it. And I thought it might be good luck for the fight, you know?"

She looked up imploringly at him, bringing her hands together nervously in front of her, hoping she had not shot their relationship in the foot just as they were taking their first baby-steps into romance.

"I…I got kissed by…by a girl…" Deku's words came out in a disbelieving whisper, so light and airy that Ochako could barely hear them.

"What was that…?" Ochako blurted out, leaning in a little closer to try to confirm what Deku was saying. The gesture made Deku bump his head back against the wall in panic.

"That was…that was…FINE!" Deku shouted suddenly, with a little too much force In his voice. "Good, it was good, Uraraka! I didn't mind at all!" He stuttered, laughing nervously, trying to recover from his earlier mental shutdown.

"Deku..?"

"Good, good luck, makes sense!" Deku continued to ramble, his mind barreling down train tracks to nowhere. "Yes, a kiss can be good luck! I don't mind!"

She touched a finger to his lip to interrupt him. He stopped, his cheeks inflamed as he held on for her word.

"We'll call a mulligan on that one," Ochako suggested, flashing him a nervous grin. "Maybe that was a little much for now?"

Deku gulped but nodded slowly in reply, responding with his own nervous smile. "Yeah, maybe…"

"Next time we kiss, we'll make it better!"

"Yeah, you're right!"

The two smiled enthusiastically at each other, nodding in unison, energized by their friendly agreement. But the haphazard words, and the promise contained within them, quickly removed the grins from their faces as it sunk in.

"Um…I mean, only if you want to! I mean, eventually, I think it'd be a good idea," Ochako said quickly, speaking energetically with her hands.

Deku could not even manage that much, burying his tomato-red face deep into his hands. He poked his eyes above them and nodded in reply, not daring to blurt out anything else and risk making things worse.

Ochako groaned miserably, squeezing her eyes shut and wishing desperately this awkwardness between them could vanish. Navigating the descent into the unknowns of love was going to be a pain.

But as she opened her eyes again to see Deku, frazzled beyond belief, lips tugged slightly upward in a nervous smile, a blush still staining his cute freckled cheeks, she realized it might not be so bad. After all, she would be navigating the lovely abyss by his side.

And together, she knew the two of them could conquer anything.

"Hey, Deku, can I try one more thing? I promise it won't be as drastic." In watching his nervousness, she managed to steel herself and took a small hop over to him.

"Uhh…sure I guess," Deku mumbled, scratching his chin and bracing himself for the worst. His eyes suddenly focused intently on her, as if she was sizing her up as a combatant. She laughed at his serious face as he tensed up, bracing herself.

Without another word, she leaned up and pecked him lightly on his left cheek, right above a dense cluster of freckles.

"A little more to our pace, right?" Ochako suggested cheerily, finding some delight at his dumbfounded expression. "Thanks, Deku. For everything."

"…Don't…don't mention it," Deku stammered, blinking rapidly and touching his hand to his cheek.

"Alright, I better head off for real this time." She fully disengaged from him and started to drift down the hallway, ready to face the challenge ahead.

"Good luck! I'll be rooting for you!" Deku called out from behind her, his voice rising into a heartier tone as he recovered from his stunned state.

Ochako turned around briefly to see him waving at her, beaming brighter than the sun despite his still-red cheeks. It was a beautiful image, one she wanted to commit to memory.

Her heart was ablaze in the darkness of an unknown future. But she knew she had to believe in her ability to figure it out. It is what would make her happy, in the end.

She pressed herself forward, pushing off of the ground towards her next horizon. Gravity had no hold over her. And with that, she knew she would get over any obstacle, no matter what it took.

Her name was Uravity, after all. A hero who never gives up.

* * *

AN: Thank you to Kingdom Lightz for editing this.

Well, that is (almost) a rap. The story has reached its original planned endpoint, but I do plan to deliver an epilogue.

Thank you all so much for the support you have given to this. ^_^ It has really helped inspire me a great deal and I am endlessly appreciative of it all.

There WILL be an epilogue to this story, but I am not entirely sure when it will come out. I have some other projects I will be devoting my focus too before I get around to the epilogue, but stay tuned.

Please leave a review and a favourite if you enjoyed it! =)


	8. Epilogue: Among the Stars

Her desperately gasping lungs and the heat pooling at her forehead could do little to quell the fire roaring deep in her belly.

Ochako's gaze was fixed on her two feet in front of her, continually pushing against the leg press, straining to lift all the weight loaded onto the device. She had to push her left leg a little harder than her right, the muscles there unbalanced by weeks of limited use. But she kept lifting her legs upwards, heedless of the straining protest of her limbs.

"Eleven…" she muttered under her breath, her legs practically screaming at this point, as she let them fly back down along the machine. She grit her teeth and lifted once more, faltering once but managing to complete the last repetition. "Twelve."

She did her best to gently disengage her legs from the machine, pushing them off and working to catch her breath. She tried to press down on her left foot, but the leg shook under even a minimal amount of pressure. She frowned, knowing she would have to call it in for that day, unable to do her usual fourth set.

Ochako sighed, letting her vision move up to the bright lights on the ceiling of the U.A. training gym. They were a familiar comfort as she worked to get a hold of her breathing. The low thrum of the air conditioning and the distant sounds of metal clangs were peaceful to her now, in their own way.

A buzz sounded from her nearby phone, disrupting the tranquillity of the moment. Ochako scrunched her forehead and instinctively reached out for it, glad she had the forethought to keep it next to her this time. With a few tired swipes of her thumbs, she read the message she had been expecting — and dreading.

"We're ready here. You coming? :D"

Mina's text was less bothersome than usual but still caused Ochako to take a bracing breath. She still wondered how Mina had gotten her to agree with this. Shaking her head, she tapped her fingers quickly on her phone screen to reply.

"Be there in a half hour."

Her workout was cut short with Deku being busy with some kind of super-secret training with All Might. Without her familiar sparring buddy, Ochako resigned herself to hitting the showers early and walking into her scheduled torment.

But she would need her legs for that, which were still a little shaky. She grabbed a water bottle near her and took a healthy chug, letting the water's coolness course through her system.

* * *

 _This was her breaking point._

 _Ochako collapsed onto the crumbling tile of the arena, legs giving out, quirk no longer able to lift her. She puked, spilling her guts out, unable to rein in the reflex. This position was all too familiar, and she pounded her fist into the ground at that fact. She tried desperately to find another second wind, using her arms to lift her up. Deku, her parents and all her friends were out there rooting for her. She had to find a way to keep fighting._ _  
_ _  
_ _"You're done."_ _  
_ _  
_ _She looked up to see Bakugo there, staring coldly down at her. Other than a large mark on his cheek from where she had successfully landed a fist — but had been blown away the instant before she could have tapped him with her thumb and sent him flying — he looked little worse for wear._ _  
_ _  
_ _Ochako desperately wanted to prove him wrong. To stand up and kick his butt out of the ring. But her legs refused to budge. Her stomach churned and tugged in a way that told her she would be heaving out the remnants of her stomach if she tried to use her Quirk again._ _  
_ _  
_ _It was frustrating. She knew — or at least told herself she did — that she could win if she was closer to 100 percent. But her fight with Deku had taken too much out of her. She was not as agile as she needed to be to keep out of reach of Bakugo's explosions._ _  
_ _  
_ _"You never stood a chance," Bakugo stated, nothing but disdain in his voice. "It would have been better if you lost last round."_ _  
_ _  
_ _It made her blood boil. She shook as she sent a defiant glare his way. As unconsciousness started to creep across her mind, she managed one last sentence._ _  
_ _  
_ _"I will...surpass you."_

* * *

Ochako's eyes flew open as the aggravating scene played in her mind once again. It had haunted her dreams, both day and night, for weeks. Every bedridden moment had thus infuriated her, eager as she was to throw herself back into training to start making up for that humiliating defeat.

Unfortunately, her injuries forced her to pace herself. She stood up, grimacing at the pain that shot through her legs. But they managed to hold her weight. Her arms dangled loosely at her sides, worn from an early section of her workout. With little energy to go on, Ochako shambled over to the facility's locker rooms.

As she walked through the quiet facility, Ochako found her mind turning once more to the Summer Sports Festival and her failure to reach the top. Todoroki had gone on to defeat Bakugo in the finals, but that had done little to assuage her grief when she heard about it afterwards.

Despite the pain and the tears shed over the loss, Ochako chose to use it as motivation. She redoubled herself into her hero training, working her arms with dumbbells Deku had snuck in for her while she was bedridden. As soon as she could walk steadily again, she had gotten back into the swing of hero classes and working out at the gym.

It had taken a lot of time to work down that frustration. Her victory over Deku had still gotten her a fair bit of notoriety. But she wanted to prove she could do more. To open up even more doors. She used her defeat as fuel to rededicate herself to training.

Deku was much the same and was often enough lifting weights right alongside her. Fortunately, the romantic edge to their relationship had only made training _slightly_ more awkward. Sparring had even gone smoothly, once the opening jitters were out of the way. Her heart panged a little at missing him today — both for training and beyond. But she was somewhat reassured by the meeting she would have with him tomorrow.

There was not a lot of certainty to her life these days beyond her drive to train and get better. She was happy — ecstatic, even — to be with Deku. But he was a big part of that uncertainty, the two of them struggling to navigate the first steps of their new relationship together. Nevertheless, she found herself regularly seeking his company.

Ochako closed her eyes for a moment as she stood on the threshold to the locker rooms. The dull throbbing of her muscles cried out for the relief of a hot shower and a soft bed. It hurt, but it was a good, satisfying kind of hurt.

As she had learned, love had not quelled her thirst for self-improvement.

That was perhaps one fear she need not worry about. But there were new terrors that had taken its place.

After a shower and a quick change of clothes, Ochako walked slowly back towards the U.A. dorms. She was in no particular rush. She stretched the distance, taking time to appreciate the pleasant warmth of the midsummer evening.

Ochako tried to use the glorious hues of the summertime sunset to find a measure of peace. Her lungs relished in the fresh air, delighting in the brief reprieve from more strenuous activities. It would be nice if she could just sit out here for a while.

But she knew she had no choice but to keep walking toward her doom.

As she finally arrived into the dorms and entered the class 3-A building, she found herself ambushed by hands. She could not keep track of how many as they grabbed hold of her tightly, preventing any hope she had of escape. Before she knew what was happening, she was getting yanked along deeper into the facility.

"Took you long enough!" Mina exclaimed, unable to contain the enthusiasm bursting in her voice. "Come on, we're all waiting for you!

Ochako groaned, wanting to protest, but let herself get pulled along limply. She looked up and realized the other hands dragging her along helplessly belonged to Tooru — who was waving her free arm rather excitedly — and Tsuyu, who sent a little apologetic smile her way.

They passed by a few of their male classmates along the way, their quick gait raising more than a few eyebrows and earning a passing scolding from Iida. But soon enough — too soon for Ochako's liking — they found their way to her room. She was pulled in unceremoniously by her friends for the "fun" to begin.

The image before her was perhaps less horrific than Ochako might have originally imagined. Momo and Kyoka were rifling through her dresser, a few of her outfits placed on her nearby desk for consideration. There were also more extravagant clothing choices in the pile that definitely did _not_ come from her wardrobe.

Her eyes were next drawn towards the teetering piles of girly fashion magazines strewn about her bed. Tooru hands quickly disengaged from Ochako to start rifling through them. The invisible girl held a couple of choices up in her hands, the magazines appearing to float quickly from side to side. Ochako imagined Tooru was probably grinning widely at the prospect of subjecting her to the contents within.

Finally, she saw plenty of snacks gathered around her small table, from Pocky to sponge cakes to chocolate. Ochako's eyes were immediately glued to the snack food she tended to spurn for budgetary reasons, and her stomach growled at the prospect of digging in.

Mina perceptively grabbed a box of Pocky and shoved it in Ochako's hands, before pushing towards Momo and the clothing piled up on her desk.

"You can eat while we work on your outfit," Mina suggested with a beaming grin. "Let Operation: Date Preparation commence!"

With that, Ochako quickly tried to scarf down a couple of Pocky sticks while Momo pulled her in front of a full-length mirror — undoubtedly brought in from Momo's room — and started holding outfits in front of Ochako's chest.

"You don't really have a lot of clothes," Momo observed, holding up a white blouse from Ochako's wardrobe. "Do you have anything else in another suitcase somewhere?"

"Spoken like a rich kid," Tsuyu teased from Ochako's bed, sending a blush running into Momo's cheeks.

"I'm just asking, that's all!" Momo protested.

Ochako cracked a smile, but shook her head at Momo's question while chewing on her Pocky. The theatrics of this was too much for her personal taste, but she knew her friends were coming from the right place. In fairness, she had no idea how she was supposed to approach her first-ever date.

Just the thought of it made Ochako's cheeks a little rosy as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her reddening face did not go unnoticed.

"Well, we'll find something nice for you to wear for tomorrow," Mina stated matter-of-factly, creeping up behind Ochako and holding a tiny little red shirt that was definitely _not_ something she'd ever have in her own wardrobe. "Something that will make Midoriya's jaw drop."

"I am not wearing something like that!" Ochako exclaimed between bites, shaking her head and reaching a hand out to push the shirt away. Mina responded by yanking it out of her grasp, like a matador battling with a raging bull.

"I just want something...something simple," Ochako continued after swallowing her mouthful of Pocky. She eyed the white blouse that had been discarded into what she guessed was a "no" pile and pulled it back in front of her. "What's wrong with this?"

"Well, it's kind of something you'd usually wear, isn't it?" Tsuyu observed, putting an elongated finger to her cheek. "Isn't this supposed to be something special, ribbit?"

"It's your first date! Live a little!" Tooru piped in, piling on the peer pressure.

"I would suggest trying to wear something a little different. It's a good idea, from what I've read anyway," Momo noted, giving a gentle smile as she pulled the blouse out of Ochako's suddenly weak grip. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try to get you in anything you're not comfortable with," she assured, sending a threatening glance Mina's way.

"This stuff is way too complicated," Kyoka muttered, leaning against the desk while idly flipping through one of Tooru's magazines, eyes wandering around the room.

"You're telling me," Ochako said, frowning as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had never been particularly self-conscious about her appearance — she had much bigger problems to worry about than that. But the world of dating brought with it a whole host of unexpected little pressures she was struggling to come to grips with.

Being involved with Deku romantically had been _mostly_ wonderful. Their interactions usually started a little on-edge with the romantic dimension added onto their relationship. But it would normally not last long, and they would fall back into the easygoing camaraderie they both treasured. Only now, Ochako could actually act on her occasional urges to touch and lean against him. It had been a lot of fun seeing him react and be so flustered as she gently poked at the first steps into a physical side to their relationship.

The emotional side of things had also been slow and tentative. They were already close confidants, but there was plenty neither was forthcoming to share with the other. Ochako had tried to be a little bit more open about her frustrations, venting frequently about her loss against Bakugo. It had felt better than she would have thought. Deku was a wonderful listener.

Despite the progress, the two had put off the date to allow for her leg to heal. When that excuse was out of the way, Ochako had found herself suddenly scrambling to ready herself for a promised day out. The nerves had gotten the best of her, and before she knew it, Mina had roped her into a girls' night to prepare, which Ochako had very quickly regretted agreeing to.

"Come on, this should be fun!" Mina retorted. "You're going to be going on a date with your lover! Isn't that exciting?"

Ochako felt her cheeks heat up at Deku being referred to as her "lover."

"Not really…" she replied, touching a hand to a pinkish cheek. "I'm just...is that how I _should_ feel about this?"

"That's up to you," Tsuyu stated in her usual monotone, sitting by the snack table with a bag of chips in hand. "None of us would even know what that's like, except for Tooru."

"Well, I know _I_ was excited!" Tooru exclaimed, the sleeves of her pink shirt pumping upwards. "I practically couldn't sleep the night before my first date!"

"Yeah, but you've been planning your first date since you were seven," Kyoka noted dryly, wearing a smile while rolling her eyes. "Not all of us are into this kind of thing."

"Well, Ochako has to be at least a little into this, considering she said yes to Midoriya," Momo observed while holding a yellow sundress over Ochako's chest. "This could work, couldn't it? Want to try it on?"

"Sure, I guess," Ochako said, hesitantly taking ahold of the dress she imagined was more expensive than anything in her wardrobe. "I guess I'm glad to be going on a date with him. But I'm more nervous than anything else. Am I supposed to act any differently? And all this preparation...do I really need this?"

"Yes!" Mina and Tooru shouted in unison, causing Ochako to jump slightly in place.

"People do tend to get a little dressed up on dates, after all," Momo added, nodding in agreement with their group's hyperactive pair. "But it doesn't have to be stressful. We're here to help, as girlfriends do!"

"Tell 'ya what. How about you say why you wanted to go on this date with him?" Mina suggested. Ochako noticed how all the girls leaned forward a little at the question, even Kyoka.

Ochako bit her lip at being suddenly put on the spot. "Well, I just...we had just confessed to each other and I just felt really...happy in the moment. And when he tried to ask me out, he was so nervous and stuttering and it was just really...really cute."

"Awww…" Tooru sighed, flopping her back down onto the bed while clutching a pillow.

"And it was actually pretty easy to say yes," Ochako recalled, a smile blooming onto her face as she remembered. "It was just...a really good moment."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Mina shouted, clapping her hands together. The pink girl popped in front of Ochako and grabbed her shoulders. "That's why you're doing this! Just hold on to that feeling and have fun with it!"

"If you're glad about going out with Midoriya, then getting ready should be happy too, shouldn't it?" Tsuyu added, affixing Ochako with a rare smile.

Ochako eyed herself in the mirror, appreciating the wide smile on her face. A happy moment. Right. That's why she had said she'd put herself through this romance in the first place, wasn't it? To pursue her own form of selfish happiness for a change.

Mina winked in the mirror from behind her, as if reading her thoughts. The pink girl leaned in again, placing her head right next to Ochako's right ear.

"It'll be great," Mina said, her voice surprisingly soft, but her smile no less exuberant. Ochako got a little tingle down her spine from the proximity of Mina's voice. "I promise."

Ochako scanned the room and the grinning faces of all her friends. As grating as their peer pressure could be sometimes, she was happy they were there for her as she prepared for this uneasy foray into romance.

The pursuit of happiness was one best walked with friends by your side, after all.

* * *

Was her heart supposed to be ready to start running out of her chest?

Ochako asked herself a variation of that question for the third time in five minutes as she awaited her... _.boyfriend_ (her thoughts still paused to dwell on it every time she considered Deku that way).

The simple yellow sundress she and her friends had agreed on suddenly felt tight on her skin as she sweat under the hot summer sun and her own nerves. The anticipation of an imminent date brought all of her anxieties to the forefront.

 _What if this goes wrong? Is this a good idea? How am I supposed to act? Was this the right outfit? What should I say first?_

The advice of her friends got lost within the questions spiralling out of control in her mind. She looked up at the windows of the U.A. dorm building. She idly wondered if her friends were there, watching from above as she awaited her first date.

She quickly stomped the question out of her mind. Of course they were.

Ochako idly pulled out her cell phone and looked at the clock yet again. 11:01 a.m. She blinked at the display. She frowned at the numbers, idly tapping her foot as she considered them. She had never seen Deku be late for anything before. She did not really mind if he was late now — not yet anyway — but she could not help but wonder what his tardiness might mean.

As if on cue, she heard the quick patter of footsteps as Deku burst from the entrance door to the dorms. He was sprinting with his quirk, causing him to rush past her at first. It took him a moment to realize before he suddenly stopped himself and turned to run back towards her. His quirk-enhanced speed sent a strong gust flying Ochako's way, causing her to close her eyes and dig her feet in a little in reflex.

"Sorry! I...I lost track of the time and I'm sorry!" Deku blurted out in a panic between panting breaths, bent over slightly to grab his knees. Ochako opened her eyes to consider her date. He wasn't wearing anything flashy — a simple black shirt with shorts and his trademark red shoes. His green hair and freckled face were just the same as ever, too. The average, every day, plain-looking Deku.

She tried to think like that to keep herself calm, but her racing pulse and dry throat betrayed her. Love did funny things.

"It's alright, Deku!" she replied brightly after letting him catch his breath for a moment. "You were hardly late at all. But did something keep you?"

"Well I...um...well...you know…" his stare was wide upon her, and his mouth went slack between his multiple false starts at answering. She regarded him with a smile, which sent a heavy flush to his face, much to her delight. Her friends had assured her he would probably be more of a nervous wreck than she would be during this. She was counting on it to help keep her grounded and remind herself they were taking these first steps together, each as clueless as the other.

"Know what?" Ochako asked, leaning in just a little closer. She had to admit, it was fun getting Deku to react like this, now that she was actually looking for it.

"Just...getting ready!" Deku managed with a little too much volume, before reaching out suddenly and holding his hand in front of her. "Would you like to take my hand?!"

Ochako stared down at the offered, scarred appendage. She slowly glanced up to see Deku, sweating profusely, mouth stuck in a hard line. She looked back down to see his hand start to shake in place.

Try as she might, she could not help it. She burst out laughing.

"Sorry, it's just….you're so serious!" Ochako said between chuckles, trying to assuage his evident distress. "You're too cute, Deku! Did Iida suggest that?"

Deku averted his eyes at the question, reeling in his hand and putting it back to his side. "...Maybe."

"So…" Ochako replied, shaking her head. "I take it you were dragged into some preparation too?"

Izuku sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Well...kind of. It was mostly just a lot of arguing. Not a lot of guys in class actually have a lot of experience with this kind of thing. How'd it go for you?"

"A little better, I think," Ochako said with sincerity. "They actually helped me out a lot."

"That's good." He smiled at her, but it ran quickly from his face as he looked at her again. He put his eyes downward and scratched at his blushing, freckled cheek. "Um...you look really nice, Ochako."

The compliment was simple. But she still found herself sucking in a breath, rendered speechless. The heat on her brow felt just a little bit more intense.

"Ochako?" His soothing voice penetrated the silence as she tried to gather herself.

"Oh...um….thanks, Deku," Ochako replied. She took a deep breath and tried to collect herself.

What should she say here? She should try to respond in kind, right? That's what Tooru's magazines said, anyway.

"You look...good too…?" It was true, but Ochako's voice had no certainty in it. It almost came out like a question. Fortunately, the remark nonetheless sent Deku sputtering.

"I don't...well...thank you," Deku replied simply, eyes glued to the ground, his mouth furrowed inward as if to prevent himself from saying something more.

An awkward silence struck between them, neither of the two willing to look at the other. Ochako frowned as she tried to think of what she should say next. A part of her desperately wanted interacting with him to be as easy as when they were just friends.

She idly roamed her eyes forward to his right hand, offered to her earlier. She seized upon an impulse, wanting to push things forward.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, after all.

When her hand met his, the touch was electric. Far too much so. Deku jumped slightly as if he was shocked, eyes bulging comically as he realized her sudden proximity.

"Well...I would be happy to take your hand!" Ochako gave him the best smile she could muster, trying to mask her nerves. In spite of his flushed cheeks, Deku gave her a shaky smile in kind.

"Thanks. But...um...Ochako?"

"Hm?"

"I'm kind of floating."

"Floating?"

Ochako's eyes widened in alarm as she realized Deku's feet were no longer touching the ground.

"Oh, shoot, sorry!" Ochako said, immediately letting go of her hold on his hand to touch her fingertips together.

Deku plopped back down on the ground, maintaining his balance. Ochako smiled sheepishly at him, letting her hands fall slackly down to her sides. She wanted to crawl under a rock. How had she messed up something so simple?

But she found the steel within herself and reached out again, slowly and more carefully. Deku actually met her halfway, intertwining his fingers with hers. The slower speed allowed her to better appreciate the feeling of his scarred flesh on her fingertips. His hand was coarse, uneven, and calloused, not unlike her own. But his hand was gentle and pleasant to clasp nonetheless.

"Third time's the charm, right?" Ochako suggested. Her spirits were lifted slightly by his humoured snort and his accompanying smile. His face had not gotten any less red, but at least he was no longer shaking.

"Right," Deku agreed. "Who knew holding someone's hand could be this difficult?"

"Not us," Ochako replied in good humour while shaking her head. "But...I guess we'll figure things out."

"Together." There was a surety in his voice, a familiar one that stabilized her own resolve.

"Shall we go, then?" Ochako suggested, stepping forward and pulling his arm along.

"Lead the way."

The trek to their designated cafe, where they agreed to have a light dinner, was fairly uneventful. They filled the space between them with idle chatter, each trying to give a degree of normalcy to the situation. It was not as difficult as Ochako had imagined it would be.

But a degree of romantic tension remained. Their hands remained clasped, to the point where it had gotten a little awkward walking through a crowd to get to their destination. But whenever they broke apart, they tried to join their hands once again. It had become a strange, unspoken physical connection between them, one neither of them was willing to break.

The cafe was a little crowded, but not enough for things to be cumbersome. As they took their seats, hands finally disengaging, Ochako busied herself with the menu in front of her. She looked a little mournfully at the pricier options, wishing she could splurge but settling for something more in line with her budget. The two had been here enough times with friends to at least know there were options for two broke high school students.

With orders made and drinks served (they both settled for water), there was nothing left to distract themselves except occasional sips from their respective glasses. The silence between them started to stretch, but despite that, Ochako did not feel uncomfortable. It was similar to any other day out with Deku. There were just fewer people they knew around them. People that she knew of, anyway.

"So...uh...how has your internship been going lately?" Deku asked suddenly, trying to spur conversation between them. His delivery was a little awkward, but Ochako did not mind.

"Pretty well, actually," she replied cheerily, smiling as the memories surfaced within her. "Ryukyu and I busted a jewelry store robbery while on patrol yesterday."

"That's great!" Deku spoke with such a genuine enthusiasm, one that naturally burst out of him whenever the conversation turned to heroics. It was one of his more endearing qualities. "I didn't see anything about it online though. Did Ryukyu not use her quirk then?"

"Just enough for a claw. It's a little weird to look at, but effective."

"I bet."

There was a beat of silence as Ochako started to fidget a bit in her seat. She wanted to say something more, but she was worried about how Deku might take.

But today was a day of firsts. If she could have enough courage to hold Izuku's hand, she could summon the gumption to get the good news off her chest.

"She offered me a job. For after I graduate." Ochako's eyes rolled down to the table, and she tried to control the smile widening on her face. Thinking about it still made her giddy, but she figured she should try to control it around Deku. He might still be sore over his lost opportunities, after all.

"THAT'S AMAZING!" Deku shouted, face beaming. His volume drew a few eyeballs in their direction, prompting him to fly a hand to his mouth. He waited until the attention was off them before continuing. "I'm so happy! You earned it! What kind of deal did she offer?"

Ochako was a little caught off guard by his unbridled enthusiasm, but she rolled with it. His delight was infectious, and she was glad to release her own joy at the news.

"More than I expected. Five million yen annual salary to start off," Ochako said. She rested her head in her hand, her head heavy at the prospect of it all. "And she thinks I can get a sponsorship deal within a few months to add to that."

"Holy…" Deku's eyes widened at the figure, his mouth going a little slack. "That's way above average for something just out of high school. That's incredible!"

"She said she wanted to make sure to put a good offer so no other agency would steal me away," Ochako recalled. It was still hard for her to believe — that she would actually be fought over by hero agencies. It was not something she would have dared to dream of even a few months ago.

"What did your parents think?"

Ochako sighed wistfully as the quick phone conversation came to mind. "They wouldn't stop crying about it. Or saying how proud they were of me. It was nice."

"Your hard work is paying off," Deku observed, his voice softening. "So...did you accept it?"

"Well, I was really tempted, but I'm going to wait and weigh my options. Maybe something better comes along," Ochako said. She looked up and sent a confident smile Deku's way, raising a fist upward in front of her. "I've got to make sure I get the best deal and make the most money possible. I'm not going to commit to anything until I'm sure I have it!"

"Wow, Uraraka. That's...that's really cool." Awe rang through every decibel of his voice. The wonder with which he looked at her was peculiar, but touching. She wondered if that was what she looked like sometimes when she was watching him in action.

"So...how have things been with your training?" Ochako did not specify, but she hoped he would divulge a little about what he was working on with All Might. The duo had gotten rid of a lot of the pretense of their one-on-one training over the years, but there was still a mystique about what exactly the two's training entailed.

"It's going well!" He spoke with a smile on his face, but he did not sound quite as enthusiastic as he did when speaking about her career. "It's gotten pretty tough lately. But it's all starting to come together. Although perhaps it is taking longer than I wanted…"

His eyes went out of focus. He was once again looking at something beyond her. She put a smile on her face but was not sure how to feel about the secrecy.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're way too smart not to."

"Oh!" Deku said a little loudly, startled out of his distant thoughts. "Uh, sorry about zoning out. And...thanks."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. She was tempted to reach a hand out to emphasize her point, but decided it might be a little forward. Or maybe it wasn't, but she would rather not take that chance.

A brief lull in their conversation allowed a line from the distant drone of a nearby television set within the cafe to capture their attention.

"In hero news, we have an exclusive for you today. We've acquired footage of Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods kissing after a mission. Hero enthusiasts have long speculated about their relationship, and now we are happy to be able to confirm it! Let's roll that footage now."

Ochako watched bemusedly as Deku clambered out of his seat to stand and get a better view of the news report. She still followed him though, quite curious about it herself.

Lo and behold, the hero world's most famous couple were indeed caught in the act. The shot was pretty distant and fuzzy, but the two were unmistakable and definitely executing a mouth-to-mouth in an alleyway. It looked a little strange to see Kamui Woods with the bottom half of his mask off and the extended passion was kind of embarassing to look at.

"I knew it!" Deku exclaimed, raising a fist in front of him in excitement. No bit of hero news escaped his attention — even romantic news, apparently. But his smile quickly faded and he pinched at his chin in thought.

"I wonder what's going to happen to them now. They're probably going to have a lot of attention on them for a few weeks."

Ochako frowned a little at the thought. There were very few publicly known hero couples out there. Most known romantic partners of heroes tended to be people outside the profession. She imagined it was hard enough having one person in a relationship dealing with the strains of heroics, let alone two.

As a result, speculation on the "Mt. Woods" pairing had garnered a lot of media attention. Even she had caught wind of it, despite not really following hero gossip. It would be a top story for at least a few days.

Ochako glanced sidelong at Deku, who seemed to be lost in thought. He was mumbling, but it was low enough that she could not make out what he was saying. As if by automation, he turned to clamber back into his seat. She followed his lead.

"It must be really hard to be in a position like that…" Deku stated with more volume, eyes locked downward, gazing into nothingness. "Not being able to just be with the person you like without the paparazzi going after you."

"Yeah, for sure." Their profession had its drawbacks. Villainy was restless, and so too was heroism. It was hard to find privacy if you reached the top. The world would constantly scrutinize them.

Though they walked it together, their fledgling love was an uncertain road. Those were the storm clouds on the distant horizon.

They both understood that.

"...You know, before we...talked. After the fight, I mean. All Might came over to talk with me first."

Ochako looked up at him quickly, snapping out of thoughts. That was not something he had mentioned before.

"About what?"

"Well, a lot of things. How I fought, how I lost, and…" Deku finally looked up at her again, eyes bright and mouth suddenly turning upward. "And about how to handle what you told me."

"Oh…" she responded sheepishly. How else could she react? There was no way his mentor could have been happy about how she won that fight. "What did he say?"

"Well, I guess he was quiet for a while. And he asked me how I felt about you. I said...well…" his cheeks immediately reddened and he stopped his tongue. Ochako smiled at the adorable reaction. "I was honest with him."

"And how did he react?"

Deku straightened his posture and puffed his chest out a bit, evidently trying to mimic his idol.

"If you feel that way, then tell her," Deku dropped his voice an octave, managing a surprisingly passable impersonation of his hero. "Don't worry about what anyone else has to say. Don't worry about what might happen tomorrow. You're young. You should live."

Ochako did not have time to respond before Deku was suddenly reaching across the table to grab her outstretched hand, squeezing it.

"I don't want to worry too much about the future right now." He spoke with his heroic conviction, his blazing eyes sending her heart into a hammering pace. "I just want to live. With you."

Her heart started running fast as a freight train. Ochako gulped and tried to stomp down hard on her flightier reactions. She felt torn between urges to either jump for joy or crawl underneath a bed to hide her blushing face.

But she wanted to control her feelings — in a positive manner. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and squeezed his hand back.

"I want to stay with you too, Deku." She tried to match his conviction, flashing him with a sunny smile. "Whatever may come. I'm ready to face it."

Their ferocity for themselves and each other momentarily cast aside their nerves. The sweet sincerity of the moment, of their determination to continue on this winding path into the unknown, warmed Ochako to her core.

But the moment could not last forever.

"Um…I mean live with you. Like we are now. Not necessarily in a domestic sense. Probably a little early for that." Deku slowly retracted his hand as he spoke, quickly burying his face into his palm as he tried to address a meaning not taken.

"Oh, right! I didn't take it that way, don't worry!" Ochako tried to reassure him through her own fire raging across her face. She scratched the back of her head and hoped they could both learn how to make romantic proclamations without wanting to cower in fear.

Fortunately, the arrival of their orders helped break the tension and made for an easy pivot into small talk.

They silently agreed to try and settle back into a more easy-going conversation. They chatted about homework, training regimens, the latest antics of Class 3-A, and even some shared mirth about their respective date preparation sessions. It was like any other conversation she might have had with Deku before their mutual pinings made it all so much more complicated. But she was relieved to still be able to talk with him like this — even on something as nebulous as a first date.

With their bellies full, they walked out into the busy streets, bathed under the light of an orange sky. They did not hold hands this time, quietly electing for a reprieve from that particular gesture. But their spirits remained high as they walked side-by-side back towards the dorms.

"This has been a wonderful time, Deku." She spoke honestly, hovering close enough to him to be audible over the bustle of the street. "I'm glad we did this."

"Yeah!" He nodded with vigour, an open-mouthed smile upon his face. "There's one more thing I wanted to do, though. We'll have to wait until it's dark. Is that okay with you?"

Ochako blinked at the question. They had not discussed anything beyond going out to grab a bite. The idea that Deku had something else planned, something that could only be done under the cover of darkness, was intimidating.

But their shared meal had made her spirits soar. And she wanted to see what the next leap of faith might have in store for her.

"Sure!" Ochako replied, not missing a beat. "I haven't got anything planned, so why not?"

"Great!" Deku replied, his smile growing a little wider. "I can't wait to show you."

"Show me…?" Ochako asked, but Deku shook his head at the question.

"Just wait. You'll see."

Curiosity piqued, Ochako tried to start guessing what he was up to. But Deku was unshakable in his secrecy, quickly causing her to run out of steam.

When the two finally arrived at the U.A. dorms, Ochako was surprised when Deku gestured them off the beaten path. She quietly followed behind as he took them along the grassy landscape, around the side of the facility.

"This should be decently out of the way," Deku stated as he looked up one of the towering corners of the main building. Ochako followed his gaze, looking up at the endless windows stretched above them.

"I did get permission to set something up. We could take the stairs but…" Deku turned his gaze back to her as he pointed towards the sky. "It's a little high up."

"On the roof?" Ochako guessed. Deku answered with an eager nod.

"I think I can probably leap up there with some care, but it'd be a lot easier with the help of your quirk. Mind giving us a lift?

Ochako glanced up again, the dorm building's height a little imposing from this far below. She looked back down to Deku, his eager smile unwavering on his face.

She boldly reached out and grabbed his hand, grinning back at him. "Not at all."

With that, Deku channelled his quirk into his legs and leapt up high, pulling Ochako along with him. The initial rush of air around her ears startled her, and she instinctively clung to his arm, not wanting to end up falling below him. But the speed slowed quickly and left them hanging gently in the air, the grass and trees below them blending together as they soared into the sky.

When they reached the peak of their arc, well above the dorm facility itself, Ochako shifted her gaze in front of them. The central, flat part of the roof — the only place they could logically land — did not appear to have anything on it from this height. But she trusted whatever Deku was planning would be more visible once they got their feet atop it.

She finally chanced a glance toward him. His eyes were intently focused on sticking their landing, surprisingly unphased by how tightly she clung to his arm. The wind danced the hair across his forehead, and his focused expression was captivating.  
 _  
_ _Be still, my beating heart,_ she thought to herself as she loosened her hold around his arm slightly.

The two landed smoothly, Ochako disengaging her quirk a little above the roof to ensure they both stood on their feet. She quickly let go of his arm, glancing sidelong to see his reddened cheeks, as if he just realizing she had been holding onto him tightly.

"So...what have you got planned?" Ochako asked again, keeping her attention focused on him. She watched Deku shake his head a bit as if shaking off unruly thoughts. He turned to smile at her before pointing over to the edge of the roof, near the back of the building.

It was a little hard to make out, but Ochako could tell what it was. Small, cylindrical, and directed upward toward the darkening sky, the telescope looked puny atop the massive rooftop. There was a thick-looking book beneath it, undoubtedly filled with information on astronomy.

"I remember you mentioning something about going out to see the stars with your parents last summer…" Deku murmured, scratching at his head. "You seemed really excited about it. I just figured we could maybe try to watch some stars here."

His voice wavered as his explanation went on, as if fearing his idea was not going to work out.

Ochako did not have much experience, but she knew this was certainly a weird choice for a date. Most people would stick with something like a movie or an amusement park — the wholesome activities media tended to associate with dating. Night sky viewing on an empty rooftop was certainly a unique, and rather nerdy, choice.

But she loved it.

One of the things she disliked most about moving into the city was how hard it was to see the stars under all the light pollution. She tried to find places that might give her a fleeting glimpse of the night skies she treasured at her rural home, but it was no use. She had enough on her schedule without trying to squeeze time in for astronomical whims.

But now Deku was serving it up for her on a platter. She was eager to dig in.

Without letting Deku ramble on, Ochako grabbed his hand again and pulled him over to the telescope.

"Let's see what we can find!" Ochako shouted, unleashing her enthusiasm in a show of unbridled passion.

Ochako immediately plunged her face toward the eyehole of the telescope, fiddling with its alignment to see what she could see. With dusk still hanging around, the sky was not quite dark enough for stars. But there were a few bright spots starting to appear in the sky. A crescent moon was also in view, and Ochako peeked around the telescope to try to adjust it toward that direction.

She could hear Deku move around the other side, leaning down to pick up the book on the ground.

"It's too bad we can't see much with the city lights, but we can at least see a few bright spots," Deku said encouragingly as he flipped through the pages of the book. "I heard that Venus is going to be really bright tonight. Let me just see where it's supposed to be…"

Ochako focused in on the moon, admiring the beauty of it up close, the shadow clearly visible with the help of the telescope.

"That's so cool…" Ochako sighed breathily, letting herself get loose into the wonder of it all. "You should come check out the moon, Deku!"

"Oh, sure," he replied quickly, shuffling the book under his arm and stepping forward to take a peek. He accidentally grazed her hand as she let him have some room. The fleeting touch was pleasant, but Ochako determinedly did not allow it to phase her.

"Thank you for this, by the way. It was really thoughtful."

"Oh…you're welcome," Deku replied, suddenly thrusting his eye into the telescope with a little more vigour. "I wasn't too sure, but I'm glad you like it."

"It's been too long since I just looked up at the stars like this." There were only a couple of bright spots in the sky, but they were enough to put a smile on her face. "I've always felt…peaceful, watching the stars with someone I care about. You know what I mean?"

"I can't say I've really done much stargazing." He pulled his head away to look at her, flashing her a smile. "But I think I get it."

The two took turns glimpsing up at the night sky, slowly pushing their telescope to look at every corner they could. There were only a few bright spots to see, such as Venus and Sirius. But they were still able to enjoy each other's company, flipping through pages in the astronomy book, making excuses for fleeting contact and teasing plans to watch a real starry night sky together in the countryside some day.

Ochako was idly fiddling with the telescope's calibration when she saw it, flashing across the sky. A streak of light flashed across her vision, brighter than she would have expected through the lens of the telescope.

"Woah!" she naturally exclaimed, pulling Deku's attention.

"What is it?"

"Shooting star!" Ochako replied excitedly, her hands pointing to the sky as she looked back up at her date.

"Oh, really? That's awesome! I'm sorry I missed it." He directed his naked eyes toward the night sky, hoping another star might fall. "How big was it? Was it only one?"

"Pretty small. Just the one." A warm feeling overcame her as she thought about it. "Still cool, though. I've never seen one in the city before."

"That's pretty lucky," Deku noted, taking his eyes off of the sky to give her a knowing look. "So, are you going to make a wish?"

Ochako almost balked at the idea. She had not made a wish on a shooting star since she was a little girl. The magic of the idea was lost when her child wishes for her parents' financial well-being were never granted.

But tonight felt different. Tonight felt like maybe there was a little more magic than usual in the air, silly as it sounded in her head.

"Maybe..." Ochako's soft voice was non-committal. She took a step away from the telescope, trying to focus on the question Deku posed. "I'm not even sure what I would wish for."

"Me neither," Deku responded while stroking at his chin. "I mean, you already gave me the only thing I would have wished for lately. There's always world peace, but that's not going to—"

"What was that?" Ochako asked, blinking and straining to make sure she was hearing him correctly. She was his only wish?

Deku stopped his rambling, his eyes widening and face flushing as he realized what he accidentally let out.

"Uh…well, I didn't mean it like that! Well, I did mean it, but not in a weird way. Is that weird?"

He looked pleadingly toward her, lips trembling in search of a lifeline.

Ochako let out a giggle at his awkward fumbling through what could have been a good romantic line. Deku would never be able to maintain much in the way of suaveness, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's fine. A part of me had wished for this for a long time too, after all," Ochako said honestly, waving a hand at him reassuringly.

Deku breathed a sigh of relief, smiling in thanks at her. She smiled back as familiar, warm butterflies flew about in her gut.

He really had helped her fulfill so many of her hopes and dreams. She still had a long way to go to accomplish her goals of becoming a pro and helping her parents, but Deku had undoubtedly helped set her on the right course for that. Her self-doubts were slowly fading as she trained every day and built upon the resolve she found facing off against him.

There was not much she could realistically wish for, because she knew it was not enough to wish. You had to take reaching your dreams — and your happiness — into your own hands.

There were a lot of things she wished for. But there was one thing in front of her she could grasp now.

"I think I know what I'd like to wish for, actually." She approached him with a mirthful tone, sliding up before he realized what was happening.

His throat bobbed as she rose up to meet him face-to-face. She could count the freckles on his cheeks again. But she was much more drawn to his widened eyes, mysterious new embers buried deep within those green depths.

"What would…that be?"

For just a moment, she was sure she was amongst the stars.

* * *

AN: And that is a wrap!

Thank you to everyone who read, edited and supported this story! It means so much to me that this got the kind of attention it did and it helped spur me on for my largest fiction writing project in years. You all rock. ^_^

Apologies that this took so long to get out there. Real life and writer's blocks got in the way. But I hope it was worth the rate.

Special thanks to the amazing kate7h, who completed an incredible commissioned comic of the climactic finish to Deku and Ochako's fight. Please, check it out here: post/178346038567/of-hearts-and-heroics-heres-a-work-turned

As for what's next, I cannot make any guarantees, but I have a few ideas floating around. I hope it will not be long before you hear from me again and you will join me for my next endeavour.

Please, leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed this story!

Until next time, I bid you farewell. =)


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